Heaven or Hell?
by HollyWoodFix
Summary: The crew is on an island full of beautiful women. Sanji is in heaven, but what he doesn't know is it's against the law to be on the island if you're a man of a certain age, capable of being intimate with any of the women. And to make matters worse, Sanji is caught flirting with one of the king's daughters. Nami comes up with a plan involving Zoro to get them out of this. (Yaoi)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was a fun little story I came up with. It started off as a one-shot but quickly turned into a multi-chapter fic. This is a sort of yaoi, and will involve some boyxboy loving, so if that's not your thing, turn back now. But I hope the rest of you enjoy, and I would love to know what you think. Opinions make the author want to update sooner! XD**

Sanji was the first to admit that he enjoyed the finer things in life, whether it was delicious food, expensive wine, a classy suit, or a beautiful woman. The latter of which didn't seem to be in short supply on this island.

There seemed to be gorgeous women as far as the eye could see, some of which even rivaled his precious Nami-swan and Robin-cwan. He thought for the briefest moment that he was stuck inside some kind of wonderful dream, or that he possibly died and was sent to heaven. But whatever the case was he didn't care, he was just thankful that he was there.

There were so many beautiful women in fact, it was making his job of restocking the food rations that much harder. There seemed to be a gorgeous woman working at nearly ever stand, making any sort of price haggling impossible. But right now he didn't care. He decided that he would enjoy this island for as long as he could, knowing that the log could reset at anytime, and then he would have to say goodbye to this paradise forever.

"You're not from around here are you?" A soft, borderline seductive, voice purred from behind him.

Sanji turned around and could've sworn he felt his heart stop beating, if only for the briefest of moments. Standing before him was a woman that he could only describe as a Goddess. She had long golden hair that fell perfectly down past her shoulders. Her eyes were a piercing green, and he could see himself getting lost in their beauty. Her skin was flawless and white, like a field of freshly fallen snow, and he just knew if he were to touch it that it would be soft as silk.

He chanced a quick glance at the rest of her body, hoping that she wouldn't notice, and nearly felt his head explode right then and there. Every inch of it was perfect, and tried to keep the images of his hand running over those curves out of his mind…he didn't want to get too excited, not while she was still standing before him.

"How could you tell?" He said very nonchalantly, even though his heart was now beating wildly in his chest. He couldn't remember ever being this flustered by a woman before…giddy maybe, but never flustered. Her beauty actually intimidated him.

"I've lived here my whole life, so I'm very familiar with the faces of the locals," she answered, giving Sanji a kind smile, "and I definitely think I would have remembered your face."

Her words were enough to send a chill down his spin, but when she followed it with a flirty smile and wink, he was done for. It was official, he was dreaming, or dead, he still hadn't figured out which. But if he was dreaming then he never wanted to wake, and if he was dead then he truly was in heaven.

"I'm very flattered that you consider my face memorable, that is quite the compliment coming from the living embodiment of beauty herself." Sanji said, turning on some of his usual charm. He could almost faint when he heard the sound of her giggle, and the slightest hint of blush painting her cheeks.

"You're very charming, but I bet you say that to all the ladies," she said shyly, biting her lip as she spoke.

"I can honestly say I have never met anyone whose beauty even comes close to yours. May I ask the lady her name?" He thought briefly that he might be laying it on a little thick, but she seemed to be responding well to the attention, so he would keep it up as long as he could.

"It's Lucy," the woman answered, giving him a coy, teasing smile, "and yours?"

"Sanji," he answered, "it is a pleasure to meet you milady." He took the chance of grabbing her hand, and placing a soft kiss on top of it. He was right, her skin was as smooth as silk.

"I'm very happy to meet such a charming, handsome man. As you can see, there aren't many men like you in these parts."

Sanji was very humbled by her words, and took a look around, only to realize she was right. He hadn't noticed it before, because he was so caught up with all the gorgeous women around him, but now that he took a closer look, there really weren't any men around. There were a few young boys running around, and he could see a handful of elderly men, but nowhere in sight was there an actual adult male.

"I see your point, is there a reason for that?" He asked, all of a sudden becoming very curious about it…not that he really minded, the less men, the less competition.

"The king of this island has some very strict laws when it comes to men of 'mating' age, as he calls it. He has many daughters you see, 12 in total, all very beautiful, and would likely be desired by any man on the island. The king was so paranoid about his daughters meeting and falling in love with a man that he considered 'beneath' them, that he banished all the male's between the ages of 16-60 from this island to a smaller island a few miles from here. He allows them to return once a year to mate with the women on the island, to keep the population up, but during that time he keeps his daughters tightly locked up. And he has no intention of lifting the law until all his daughter's have been married to men of high standing that he approves of….and seeing as how his daughters range from ages 5-28, it will be many, many years until the law is lifted. Leaving many of the women, especially some of his daughters, very lonely in the meantime."

"Wow…" Sanji said, his cigarette falling from his mouth in surprise. He couldn't quite tell if she was being serious or not, her story being pretty hard to believe…that being said, he had heard of stranger things…after all his crew consisted of a rubber man as a captain, a talking reindeer as their doctor, a living skeleton as their musician, and a cyborg as their shipwright…not to mention some of the places they have gone and things they have seen. They visited an island in the sky! Surly that was stranger then a king who had taken overprotective parenting to another level. "That's very unfortunate. It's almost tragic to think of so many beautiful women being so lonely. Goddesses such as yourselves should have someone to fawn over them and worship the ground you walk on."

"It is true that I too am very lonely, and crave nothing more then the intimacy that only physical contact with a member of the opposite sex could give me…which is why, like I said, I am very, _very,_ happy to meet such a charming, handsome man as yourself." She took a few steps closer to him as she spoke, gently placing her hand on his bicep.

Sanji tensed up at the touch, feeling a spark of electricity rush through his body. He relaxed a little bit as she began stroking her hand up and down his arm, and placing her other hand on his chest. He could feel his face begin to heat up, and he prayed he wasn't blushing…the last thing he wanted to do in that moment was come off as a blushing virgin.

"Would you maybe like to go somewhere a little more private where we could _talk…_ " She whispered, leaning so her lips hovered only inches from his ear. He could feel her warm breath on his neck, and could smell her euphoric scent. He nearly lost himself in that moment, especially the way she said the word 'talk', implying that not much talking would be involved.

"O-okay…" he stuttered out, feeling like a complete idiot for his lack of composure. He felt like a teenage boy getting his first taste of physical contact with a girl, but at that point he didn't care. For a woman like this one, he would gladly forget himself completely and become putty his her beautiful, soft, delicate hands.

Her eyes lit up, clearly excited about his willingness, and grabbed his hand to lead him away. They didn't get far though, when a couple of men, in what looked like some sort of guard's uniform, began running their way.

"Lady Lucy!" One of them shouted, having spotted the pair.

"Oh no," Lucy gasped, quickly dragging Sanji into the busy market, weaving amongst the stalls and people, hoping to shake off the men following them.

Sanji had no idea what was going on, and was a little confused upon seeing the men. They looked like they were in their 20's or 30's, so did that mean that her story wasn't true after all?

They kept running for a few minutes, before Lucy pulled him into a random alleyway, both of them taking a moment to catch their breaths.

"Not to spoil the mood, but what just happened back there?" Sanji asked after regaining his composure, casually lighting a cigarette out of habit. "Who were those guys? I thought you said there were no men of that age on this island."

"Those men are the exception, they're the king's guardsmen."

"What makes them the exception?" Sanji asked curiously, wondering what the men had to do in order to prove they wouldn't try anything with his daughters.

"Well…to put it bluntly…the king had them all castrated."

"WHAT!?" Sanji nearly screeched, having the urge to place his hands protectively around his manhood. He hurt just thinking about it, and felt a huge wave of sympathy for those poor souls.

"Which is exactly what will happen to you if they catch us together." Lucy said, her voice full regret. "I'm so sorry for approaching you like I did. I should've known better…but seeing you, I just couldn't help myself. I've craved the touch of a man for so long."

The sad look on her face nearly broke Sanji's heart, and all he wanted to do in that moment was to embrace her, and reassure her that everything was going to be okay, but that thought was forgotten for now, when they heard the voice of the guardsmen getting closer.

"But why are they so concerned seeing you with a man…unless…" he trailed off, distinctively remembering one of the guards yelling 'Lady Lucy'. "Shit."

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm one of the king's daughters." She confessed, avoiding his gaze. "I often sneak out of the castle walls, to explore the island, after all, there isn't much else to do…he usually sends guards after me eventually, so I should've known better then to think today would be different. I apologize, and urge you to leave now before they find you. Get back to your ship while you can."

"But I…" Sanji sighed, so much for this place being like heaven. He hated the idea of giving up his chance of being with such a beautiful, not to mention willing, woman, but he valued his 'manhood' more than that. "Alright. But will you be okay?"

"Yes, I will be fine. They will simply escort me back to the castle, where I will just be watched a little closer over the coming weeks, which really isn't new to me. So go now while you have the chance." She urged, pushing Sanji toward the opening of the alleyway. "Be swift."

Sanji nodded, about to turn tail and run, when he caught one last sad look on Lucy's face. It was a crime for such a beautiful woman to look so sad, so despite her warnings, he turned back around and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She gasped in shock at the contact, but quickly melted into it. This is exactly what she had been craving for so long, and felt that it was every bit as magical as she had been expecting.

Their lips slowly began to move against one another, Sanji placing his hand on the back of her neck, to pull her even closer, when the sound of heavy footsteps caused them to jump a part. Just as the two parted, they saw a large group of guardsmen round the corner.

"There they are!" He heard one of them shout as they were spotted almost immediately, and came running toward the shocked duo.

"Go now!" She shouted, and this time he didn't hesitate. He turned toward the direction he knew the ship was docked and began running like his life depended on it…which it very well might have. In the very least his love life depended on it, shuddering as the word 'castration' popped back into his mind.

He was able to keep up a fairly good pace, keeping a nice distance between him and the guards, but knew once he reached the ship that that wouldn't last for long. He just hoped that the rest of his crew was there and that they were ready to leave immediately.

…

"Look at these cute shoes I bought," Nami said proudly, showing off her latest purchase to Robin.

"Those are nice," Robin agreed, checking out the shoes the other woman handed her. "Where did you…"

"Umm…guys," Usopp said, interrupting the women's conversation. "I think we have a problem."

"What is it?" Nami asked confused, standing up, along with Robin, to see what it was the long-nosed man was pointing at.

"What the hell…" Nami said, completely shocked.

"Is that, the cook?" Robin asked, squinting to see into the distance.

"Lift the anchor! Lift the anchor!" They could faintly hear being shouted over and over again.

"What's going on?" Zoro asked, yawning, joining the others to see what exactly disturbed his precious sleep.

"Lift the anchor! We have to get the hell out of here!"

"Is that the cook?" Zoro asked, laughing when he realized it was. "What has that idiot done now?"

"What are you all looking at?" Luffy asked, approaching the others, taking a bite out of the massive slab of meat he had in his hand, nobody bothering to question where he got it.

"The shit cook has gotten himself into some trouble." Zorro answered, gesturing toward the commotion, which was rapidly approaching the ship.

"Coooool, I wonder what he did." Luffy said, almost sounding excited.

"It is not cool!" Nami snapped, slapping their captain on the back of the head. "Someone in town told me that the log takes about two weeks to reset on this island! We can't take off yet, unless we want to get ourselves completely lost on the grand line! This is terrible!"

"Yay! A fight!" Luffy cheered, Nami's panicked words doing nothing to diminish his excitement.

"If you don't shut up, I swear I'll…"

But Nami's words were cut off as Sanji frantically climbed aboard the ship.

"Why didn't you lift the anchor?! I told you we have to get the hell out of here!" The blonde cook said in a panic, rushing over to begin lifting the anchor himself.

"We can't go yet!" Nami said, going over and stopping him from continuing.

"Why not?"

"Because the log won't reset for another two weeks, so we can't leave unless we want to get lost for God knows how long!"

"But, if we stay…" Sanji began, but it was too late, the ship was surrounded by a couple dozen guardsmen, some of the more fierce looking ones making their way onto the ship, "I don't want to lose my balls!"

"I don't know what the hell you did, but shut up and let me try and fix this…" Nami hissed under her breath, silencing any further outburst from the cook.

"Awww, thank you Nami-swan, my sweet…"

"Are you really going to do that now?" She shot him a glare, silencing him immediately.

"You there," one of the guards spoke loudly, pointing his finger clearly at Sanji, who then took a few steps to hide behind Usopp, who quickly hid behind Zorro, who simply rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You are under arrest for breaking one of the island's most important laws."

Nami shot Sanji another look, as if to say 'what the hell did you do?', but he just shrugged, trying to maintain as innocent of a look as possible.

"Excuse me, I'm very sorry to interrupt, but might I ask what it is that my dimwitted crew mate did?" Nami asked sweetly, almost sickeningly so.

"He was seen making physical contact with one of the princesses. This is strictly prohibited by law, and depending on the severity of the physical contact, can be punished by death."

Sanji's eyes widened, not realizing the punishment would be that severe…although if given the choice of castration or death, he might just have to go with death.

"In fact it is a crime for any man between the ages of 16-60 who are capable of mating with a woman to be on this island at all. Meaning several of you are in violation of this law." The guard finished, looking around at a few other's on the ship.

"I understand," Nami said, thinking over the situation quickly. She had no idea why that would be a law in the first place, but if she was going to get them all out of this, while still getting the log to reset; she had to think of something. "But you see, you've got it all wrong. None of the men on this ship are capable of mating, so they can't possibly be in violation of your law. And as for Sanji over there," she said pointing to the blonde who was still attempting to hide, "he might have been in contact with one of your princesses, but I assure you it's all just a big misunderstanding."

"What do you mean?" One of the guards, a captain by the looks of him, asked. Narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the orange-haired woman.

"I will be all to happy to explain…" Nami said, hesitating a bit, not quite thinking up all the details yet. She needed to stall for a little time, so she could come up with something. "But I would prefer to explain the situation directly to the king if possible. I think he would be more likely to understand the situation if I were to explain in person."

The guards turned toward each other, taking a few moments to discuss their options. Nami took this opportunity to whisper something to her crew, while the guards were distracted.

"What are you going to tell them?" Robin asked curiously, impressed by the navigator's ability to think on her feet, and her ability to lie so convincingly.

"I have a couple of ideas, I don't have time to explain them all, but I need you all to promise you will go along with it." Nami said, no hints of joking in her voice whatsoever. "I mean it alright? I might be able to get us out of the situation, not to mention make it so we can stay here the two weeks while the log resets. So no matter what I say, you go along with it. Got it?"

Everyone nodded in understanding, nobody wanting her wrath directed at them. She might appear to be a sweet, innocent girl, but they all knew better, and to cross her, was a mistake.

"Especially you two," Nami said, pointing at both Sanji and Zorro.

"Why are you lumping me in with that idiot? I wasn't caught groping no princess."

"Shut up Marimo! And I wasn't groping her…we shared a beautiful moment."

"Shut up, both of you." Nami snapped, instantly silencing the two men. "As for what I meant by especially you two, you will have to wait and see about that."

"Alright!" One of the guardsmen said, breaking the crew out of their hushed conversation. "We have decided to indulge your request, seeing as the final decision on sentencing falls to his majesty anyways. We will take you before him, and if he believes what you say to be true, then you might escape here unscathed."

"Oh thank you so much!" Nami gushed, once again using her overly sweet voice.

"We will of course have to remove all weapons and restrain you all. We can't risk taking you in front of the king otherwise."

"We understand." Nami agreed, receiving a few skeptical looks from her crewmates. Especially from Zorro, who she knew might actually kill her if anything were to happen to his swords. She gave them all as reassuring of a look as she could, but truthfully she wasn't so sure herself.

Who knew if this king was going to listen to reason? He made some pretty insane sounding laws, so maybe he wouldn't even take anything she had to say into consideration.

She just prayed that the excuses she came up with were believable, and most importantly, that her idiot crewmates played along.

…

The strawhats were led through the castle, and brought into a large room that seemed to be at the center of it.

The room was absolutely incredible, and covered with so much gold, and jewels, that Nami would normally have Belli signs in her eyes, if she wasn't mentally going over what she was going to say. Ogling the valuables could wait…

What must have been 100 guards stood in various places throughout the room, a larger number of which stood along a short stairway, all leading up to what must have been the throne. The man sitting on the throne, definitely gave off an air of entitlement and power…meaning he could only be one person, the king.

He was a bit shorter, and plumper, then they were all expecting, Sanji not quite believing that he could father such a beautiful daughter as Lucy.

"I understand that you are here to plead innocent to the crimes you've committed?" The king asked, scanning the group of nine individuals, kneeling before him.

They were definitely a peculiar bunch, him never seeing such a mismatched group of people before. Was that actually a skeleton? Not to mention a small deer wearing a hat? As much as he normally wouldn't bother hearing criminals out, instead sentencing them instantly, he was curious about this group when the captain of his guard told him about them, so he decided to make an exception.

"Yes your majesty. We are very grateful for this opportunity and can't thank you enough." Nami said, bowing her head, only lifting it when she saw the king gesture her to continue. "Like I mentioned to one of your guards, I don't believe we've broken any of your laws, and ask for your mercy."

The rest of the crew stayed silent, keeping their heads slightly bowed to show respect. Nami had warned them before they arrived that she wanted them to keep quiet, show respect, and most importantly play along. To which they all agreed.

"You claim that you haven't broke any laws, yet I can see clearly that you have. It looks as though several of your crew are male's between the ages of 16-60. And I have an eye witness report from a few of my guards claiming that the blonde one made physical contact with one of my darling daughters. How can you possibly claim innocence? Are you implying that I'm stupid, or that my guards are liars?"

"Of course not your majesty! I would never consider doing such a thing. But from what I understood from your guard, it was only against the law if the male between the ages of 16-60 could potentially mate with, or seduce any of the women on this island, is that correct?"

"Yes, that is indeed correct." The king affirmed, not really able to deny that, considering he had a number of men in his guard that fell between those ages.

"Well then I believe they are all innocent because none of them fall under this category."

"Do continue, I am curious to hear what you have to say." The king said, gesturing for her to go on. He could maybe see some of them not falling into this category, but there were 4 or 5 of them that definitely seemed to fit.

"I guess I'll start explaining from one end to the other. Brook over there on the far end," she said gesturing to her far left. "Is nearly 90 years old, so he far exceeds your age limit. Not to mention he is a skeleton, and wouldn't be able to mate if he tried."

Brook would have shot the woman a glare at that comment, but what she said was true enough and he did agree to play along…not to mention he didn't have eyes to glare with.

"Yes, I wasn't really too concerned about that one, nor do I consider the small deer that's up next to be in violation of the law either." The king agreed, causing Chopper to sigh in relief. "Please do continue."

"Alright, next up is Franky. He may fall under the category age wise, but he is not able to mate because of the fact that he is a cyborg. He is part machine, including the parts necessary for 'intimacy' and therefore he couldn't possibly mate."

Franky wanted to argue that, and let it be known that he definitely still had the parts necessary for 'intimacy' but knew what Nami was trying to do here, and what the consequences would be if he argued…either he would be sent to jail, or worse, he would have to deal with a pissed off Nami.

"I see…" The king said, seeming to be a little more reluctant with that one, but noted the few metal enhancements that he could see, so decided to take her word for it…at least for now.

"Next in line is Robin, but obviously neither me or her fall into the restricted category, so after her is Luffy here." She said, gesturing to the raven-haired captain beside her. "He is actually only 15, so he falls outside your age restriction."

"I'm just a kid," Luffy said, giving the king a gigantic grin. "I don't even know what you guys keep talking about when you say 'mating'…is that like a game?"

Nami might have smacked him for opening his mouth, if what he said hadn't actually helped out their case. Luffy's appearance was definitely youthful enough, and his childish behavior and faked innocence were just the cherry on top.

The king quickly believed this one, and was sure there was no way he could pose any sort of threat. "Continue."

"Next up is Usopp, who does fall into your age category, but I assure you he poses no threat when it comes to mating with any of your women. You see, it is actually a very sad story…years ago when he was only just a child he was in a terrible accident. He had fallen out of a very tall tree, smashing his head on some rocks below it. Ever since then he hasn't been quite right. As a result of the accident he is slightly delusional, and maintains the mindset of a very small child. And he is in no way capable of seducing or mating with anyone."

"Hey! Nami! That's going a little too far! How dare you speak about Captain Usopp, brave warrior of the sea like that! I should send my army of ten thousand men after you for such remarks! Like I did one time to this giant goldfish that tried to attack my home island. It was so big that it must have been double…no triple the size of our island itself. Most men would've run away scared, but not Captain Usopp…"

"I think that proves my point." Nami said cutting his ramblings off. Once again she was relieved that his story helped make her lie more believable, but unlike Luffy, she was sure Usopp hadn't done it on purpose.

"Hey! I wasn't finished!" Usopp argued.

"Yeah, I wanna hear the end of the story!" Luffy added, pouting in a very childlike way. Which she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at…Luffy was suppose to be '15' not '5', he might have been over doing it a bit. If they got out of this successfully, she would have to remember to smack him for that.

"Alright, I'll buy that." The king said, obviously believing her last excuse, a fact that caused a certain sharpshooter to scowl. "But next in line is the blonde…the one accused of touching my precious daughter. I don't see how you could possibly explain his innocence, when I have an eye witness report from several guards."

"I understand that your majesty, and I don't doubt that it's true, Sanji here probably did come into physical contact with your daughter…" Nami began, causing a panicked look to flash across the cooks face. What was she doing? Was she selling him out? How could his precious Nami-swan do that? "But…any physical contact that might have occurred was purely innocent, and most likely misinterpreted by your guards."

"I don't understand what you are trying to say, how could the action be 'misinterpreted'?" The king narrowed his eyes in doubt at her, having a hard time believing what she was saying. He wasn't a fool, he knew how beautiful his daughters were, how much they were desired, and therefore any contact made with them couldn't have been innocent.

"I'm sorry you guys, I know you normally don't like sharing this with strangers, but I have to tell him the truth." Nami said, looking over in Sanji and Zorro's direction.

Both men gave her a confused look, but slowly nodded their heads, remembering how they agreed to follow along no matter what.

"I know neither Sanji or Zorro pose any threat to any of your women, just like I know that any touches occurring between Sanji and your daughter are completely innocent because…" She paused for dramatic effect, loving the tension building up in the room. She just hoped the two idiots didn't blow it once she finished her statement. "Because the two of them are lovers."

Nami didn't have to look over at the two to imagine what their faces must have looked like, and she knew neither of them would be pleased about this, but she honestly didn't have any other choice. Neither of them could pull off being too young, like Luffy, and she couldn't exactly pull out the 'cyborg' or 'mentally challenged' card more than once, that would just look far too suspicious. Plus she killed two birds with one stone this way…she personally thought it was rather brilliant.

"They are completely, 100% gay, I can assure you of that…having personally walked in on them during a few 'intimate' moments." She continued, relieved that the two of them had stayed silent so far and hadn't argued what she said. It might have worked in Usopp's favor when he tried to argue, but if Zorro or Sanji did, it would blow the whole plan out of the water. This completely depended on them, and their ability to act convincingly.

"You're telling me that the two of them," the king said pointing toward the cook and swordsmen, "are an item?"

"Yes sir. Which is why you've gotten the situation all wrong. Neither Sanji or Zorro have any interest toward any of the women on the island, and if Sanji was touching one of your daughters in anyway, I'm sure it was completely innocent and just taken out of context." Nami said, getting a little worried about the expression on the king's face…he seemed skeptical, very skeptical, and she began to worry that her plan would fail. Figuring she had nothing to lose she continued. "In fact, most of the time they avoid being near women altogether, I think they might actually be scared of them or something…they only tolerate me and Robin because they don't have a choice."

"Nami-san," Sanji said, feigning shyness, hoping he was covering his annoyance, "you don't have to give so many details do you?"

Sanji's eye twitched in annoyance as a few of the guards started to laugh at them and the fact that they 'feared women'…he felt like saying at least he still had his balls, but figured that wouldn't win them any points at the moment.

"I'm sorry Sanji-san, I know it's hard for you to admit and talk about, but they need to understand the truth."

The king sat back and watched the exchange, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. Looking at the blonde, he wouldn't have been too surprised if the claim was true, but the green haired man didn't really seem the type…not to mention he found the whole thing far to convenient.

"Would one of the guards that witnessed the exchange between my daughter and the blonde please step forward." The king said aloud, drawing everyone's attention toward him. One of the guards that were lined up on the staircase stepped forward, giving the king a deep bow. "Can you describe the contact you saw between him and Lucy for me?"

"Of course your highness." The guard answered obediently, but was almost a little hesitant to continue, knowing the king wasn't going to like what he had to say. "Lady Lucy appeared to be stroking the man's bicep, with her other hand was placed on his chest."

"Are you telling me it was Lucy touching _him,_ and not the other way around?" The king asked, anger apparent in his voice. "My beautiful daughter would never do such a thing!"

"I'm sorry you're majesty." The guard said, flinching at the anger in his king's voice.

"And where was his hands during all of this?"

"By his side sir."

"I see…" The king muttered under his breath, looking back at the 9 individuals before him. He scanned over them all, his eyes narrowing when he reached Sanji. He wasn't convinced yet of his, or the green haired man's innocence. "I will pardon you for now, but I forbid you from leaving the island for the 2 weeks it takes the log to reset. And during that time I will have people keeping a very close eye on you. And if I find out that any of the things you told me were lies, the punishment will be severe."

Nami sighed with relief, satisfied that her plan had gone perfectly. They were all pardoned and they were going to get to stay on the island until the log reset. It was perfect!

The only ones not sharing her look of joy at the moment were the two men at the very end. Sanji and Zorro exchanged a look when they realized what the king's words meant. They would be keeping an eye on them…and if they weren't convinced that they were a couple, they were as good as dead.

Not to mention he had to resist an island full of beautiful women…this was going to be the longest two weeks of Sanji's life.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone for the wonderful feedback! I loved hearing your thoughts, and look forward to hearing more! I am also open to any ideas or suggestions that you would like to see happen in the story. Enjoy!**

"You couldn't come up with a better lie then that!" Sanji wailed, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. "Do you know what this means!? What we're going to have to do?!"

The crew was now safely back on the ship, and for the moment out of ear shot of the guards.

"You're welcome for saving your life asshole!" Nami snapped, getting annoyed with the cook's complaining. He had shot her evil looks the entire way back, and now wouldn't stop shouting. "There really wasn't any other choice!"

"Of course there was!"

"Then please tell me, what would you have said?" Nami said, crossing her arms and waited expectantly. Sanji thought about it for a few moments, and then looked away from her in defeat. "Exactly. Now I know this isn't the ideal situation, for any of us. And if it were up to me we would leave now. But it's just not realistic to wander the grand line lost for God knows how long. It's only for two weeks, please just try and get through it."

The entire crew nodded, all of them completely understanding the situation. Sanji and Zoro exchanged a look before sighing, and nodding as well.

"Great! It shouldn't be too hard for any of you," Nami began, ignoring Usopp's protests, "but for you two," she said pointing at Sanji and Zoro, "you are going to have to make quite a few changes."

"Can't we just stay hidden on the ship for the next two weeks?" Zoro asked, looking bored. He hadn't seemed to care about the situation that much one way or another.

"No, that would look way too suspicious." Nami shook her head, "remember what he said? He's going to be keeping a close eye on us, but especially on you two. Sanji was the one that groped his daughter after all."

"I didn't grope her!" Sanji protested, receiving unbelieving looks from the rest of the crew. "Honestly! I…whatever, never mind." He finished lamely, knowing that there was no point in arguing.

"He will expect you to go about business as usual, and it would be way to obvious if the two of you stayed hidden the entire time. And honestly I wouldn't put it past him if he managed to spy on us on the ship, so even when you think you're alone, I want you to continue to pretend. That's why I want the two of you to start sleeping together in the crow's nest."

"WHAT?!" Both men shouted at the same time. Zoro wasn't really bothered by the situation before, thinking he might end up having to hold the cook's hand once or twice, but this was a completely different situation.

"You don't have to 'do anything', just lie next to each other…maybe spoon a bit." Nami said, having to hold back a laugh at the look on the two men's faces.

"You can't be serious?!" Sanji nearly hissed, not finding the humor in the situation like the rest of his crew seemed to be. They were all laughing and getting into their characters. Even Usopp seemed to have given into the idea, despite his new 'persona' being less then desirable. "Me and Zoro aren't going to stand for this! Right Marimo?"

Sanji looked over and saw the green haired man contemplating something before saying, "I dibs being the top."

"What?!"

"I dibs being the top in our relationship. It's far more believable."

"You can't actually be agreeing to this?" Sanji asked shocked. "And what do you mean it's more believable?!"

"Do we really have a choice shit cook? If we don't do this we will both be arrested. Trust me, I don't like this situation any more then you. But if I had to chose between cuddling up to you for the next two weeks, or getting my balls chopped off, I'd have to go with the first option."

Sanji sighed, completely defeated. He was right, and he knew it, he just didn't want to admit it. And as much as it would kill him to have to do this, he was fond of his balls as well…not to mention his life. His supposed 'crime' was worse than the others, so he doubted he would escape with just a castration. "Fine, whatever…but we're sure as hell not cuddling."

"Whatever you say," Zoro laughed, definitely amused by the cook's discomfort and annoyance. And that's when an idea crossed his mind…this was the perfect opportunity to torture and tease the cook. He might not like this situation either, but he wasn't nearly as uptight about it as the blonde seemed to be. This could actually be fun…

"And you still didn't answer my other questions. Why do I have to be the bottom?!"

"Raise your hand if you think Sanji would be a more convincing bottom than me?" Zoro asked, smirking in satisfaction when everyone in the room, other than Sanji, raised their hands. Even Chopper, who probably wasn't completely clear about what they were talking about. "There you have it my precious little uke…now why don't you give me a kiss?"

"I seriously hate you all!" Sanji snapped, exiting the galley in a huff. The next two weeks were going to be pure hell.

…

Sanji looked around quickly to make sure nobody had followed him. The coast appeared to be clear. He had snuck out to the market, realizing that he hadn't finished shopping for supplies earlier when all the chaos had erupted. And knowing his captain, if there wasn't a table full of meat for dinner, he would never hear the end of it. Plus the fact that he could forget some of his troubles for a while by checking out some of the beautiful women didn't hurt either. Surely looking wasn't against the law?

"Could I get a dozen slabs of that beef?" Sanji asked giving the brunette woman behind the stand a smooth smile.

"Sure thing," she giggled, returning a shy smile of her own, along with a wink.

Sanji turned around so he was leaning against the stand, so he could appreciate the rest of the women in the market place while he waited for his order to be done. Many of the women looked his way, all of them giving him seductive smiles and shy little waves. Some were even gesturing for him to come over, and he could feel himself begin to take a few steps before he stopped himself, remembering that if he was caught drooling over or flirting with the women, that he could be in serious trouble. He couldn't believe a place like this actually existed. There were attractive women as far as the eye could see, and they were all lonely and desperate to be with a man. This place should be like heaven! But instead, since he couldn't act on anything, it had turned into his own private hell.

"Hey babe!" He heard a familiar voice shout, and it sent a shiver down his spine. It couldn't be…but his fears were quickly realized when he saw the green-haired swordsmen running over to him. What the hell did that idiot think he was doing?

"So this is where you ran off too." Zoro said, amusement evident in his voice as he placed a quick kiss on the cook's cheek. "You shouldn't wander off on your own, you had me worried."

Sanji could feel his eye begin to twitch, and a bile rise up in his throat. How dare the swordsmen kiss his cheek so casually! He had to suppress every urge in his body, telling him to kick that stupid smirk off the idiot's face. And he might have considered it too if it wasn't for the two guards he saw a few feet away.

"I didn't mean to make you worry," Sanji said instead, through clenched teeth. "I'll try and be more considerate next time."

"Thanks love, I appreciate that." Zoro said, wrapping his arm around the cook's waist. It felt weird to touch the blonde so intimately, but the obvious annoyance and rage it seemed to cause, made it all worth it.

Sanji was about to pull out of the swordsmen's grasp, when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. He turned around to see the girl behind the stand, looking clearly embarrassed at his and Zoro's proximity. He wanted to reassure her it wasn't what it looked like, but received a pinch from the other man, reminding him not to blow their cover.

"Thanks," he said lamely instead, handing her the money, as she continued to avoid eye contact with him.

He grabbed his order, and turned around to leave, walking quickly so he could escape the other man's hold. But it seemed to be no use; the green-haired idiot was like a plague that he couldn't get rid of.

"Wait up darling!" Zoro shouted, catching up to the other man, "Do you want me to carry that for you?"

"I'm perfectly capable of handling it myself." Sanji answered, doing his best to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"But I don't want you to strain yourself…I know you're still a little sore after last night."

Those words caused Sanji to freeze in his tracks, absolutely horrified, his face instantly tinting a deep red. It wasn't just what he had said, but the fact that he had said it loud enough for the guards, as well as several women from the market place, to hear it. He could have just died in that moment, hearing a few giggles from the women around him, as well as several looks of disappointment. He wanted to kill the swordsmen…no he wanted to do something far worse than kill him.

"Fine, you carry them." He snapped, shoving the package into his arms, hating the satisfied look on his face, before rushing off back toward the ship, ignoring the calls from the swordsmen behind him. Right now he didn't care about keeping up appearances, he had to get out of there before he did something he would regret. Hopefully in the eyes of the guards it looked like a lover's quarrel or something…

He got back on the ship, and ignored all his crewmates as he headed toward the kitchen, locking the door behind him. He needed a moment to be alone, before he said something he didn't mean to someone who didn't deserve it.

He promptly lit a cigarette, the smooth taste of nicotine quickly calming his nerves. This was what needed to be done, he reminded himself. If he valued his balls and his life, he would deal with it. It was just an act, and it would be over soon. It doesn't matter what a bunch of strangers think…even if those strangers were incredibly beautiful women. When you get to the next island you can find a woman to help you put this terrible mess behind you.

He repeated some of these things over and over to himself, until he began to calm down. He lit another cigarette after finishing his first, before making his way back on to the deck to join the rest of the crew.

"You alright cook?" Robin asked, being the only one who noticed how upset he looked when he had walked onto the ship earlier.

"I'm fine, but I'm honored you were worried about me my darling Robin-cwa…ow!" Sanji was cut off by an elbow being shoved into his ribs, "What the hell Nami?!"

"Get those hearts out of your eyes! And no Robin-cwan or Nami-swan for the next two weeks, got it?" She hissed under her breath so that only Sanji could hear her. She was well aware of the guards standing right beside the ship, and didn't want to raise suspicions…especially since it was only the first day. They were never going to get through the next two weeks at this rate.

"Fine, jeez." Sanji muttered, rubbing his now bruised side. That girl could pack a freakishly strong punch when she wanted to.

"There you are my lovely little cook." Zoro's voice said loudly as he made his way onto the ship. "I'm sorry if what I said earlier embarrassed you, but I was just concerned for your well being. Do you forgive me my love?"

 _I won't forgive you until you're rotting in hell._ He thought, but after feeling another, not so rough, elbow in his ribs from Nami, he sighed. "Of course I forgive you. I'm sorry for overreacting."

"That's okay babe, now come give me a hug." Zoro said, holding his arms out expectantly. The entire crew turned toward the cook, seeing the pained look on his face from keeping his anger in check. He walked across the deck before he could get another elbow shoved into his ribs, allowing the idiot swordsmen to wrap his arms around him.

"Better hug me back love, they're watching." Zoro whispered, his mouth mere inches from the cook's ear.

Sanji, very slowly, wrapped his arms around the other man, feeling himself vibrate with anger. "You're really enjoying this aren't you?" He hissed back into Zoro's ear.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Zoro laughed, not even trying to hide the amusement from his voice.

Sanji couldn't believe it! They were forced to experience this hellish charade, which should be pure torture for the both of them, and the idiot was actually enjoying it! Enjoying putting him through this misery! What the hell was wrong with him?!

Although thinking back on everything he knew about the swordsmen, he didn't know why he was surprised. The idiot seemed to make it his full time job to piss him off, and this wasn't any different.

His anger slowly began to fade, as an evil smirk lit up his face. Zoro wasn't the only one that could play this game. If the green-haired man thought he was the only one that could be embarrassed, he was going to prove him wrong. As much as he didn't want to have to do this, the thought making him feel slightly ill, it would be worth it to give the swordsmen a taste of his own medicine.

He pulled away, out of Zoro's arm, not missing the smirk on his face. He wouldn't be smirking for long…

"And thanks for carrying my bag for me," he said as sweetly as he could muster, grabbing the package from the other man's arms. "I better go get started on dinner."

And before Zoro could say anything, Sanji brought his free hand to the back of the other man's neck, and forcibly smashed their lips together. He could feel the swordsmen tense up, and heard the sound of several gasps from behind him.

He pulled away to see the completely shocked, and slightly horrified look on the other man's face, and gave a satisfied smirk of his own. "You better bring your appetite, I'm making meat, lots of meat…and I know how much you like to have my meat in your mouth." He said loudly, and seductively, before turning around and walking toward the kitchen.

He could see everyone's shocked faces, and could only imagine what the idiot swordsmen's looked like. If he could make that asshole just as miserable as he had tried to make him…then maybe this wouldn't be so horrible after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry about the wait for this next chapter. The first two chapters I had written at the same time, which is why I was able to post them both so quickly. But any future chapters I'm writing as I'm going so there might be a bit of a wait for them. Inspiration is sometimes hard to find, not to mention real life has a habit of getting in the way, but I will try my best to keep the wait between chapters to a minimum.**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, I love to hear what you think and appreciate those who take the time to review.**

"Why did you have to come with me?" Sanji muttered, walking down the streets of the village, his hand begrudgingly in the swordsmen's.

Sanji had been hoping to finally get some time to himself, after being forced to be by the idiot's side constantly for the past two days. The novelty of trying to embarrass him had long worn off, and there crew barely bat an eye anymore when the two of them 'had a moment', everyone was getting far to use to this whole situation for his liking, which was exactly why he had wanted some time alone.

"Because Nami insisted that I come along, and wouldn't leave me alone about it. And I sure as hell wasn't going to stick around there and listen to her nagging all afternoon." Zoro shrugged, starting to get more and more fed up with the situation himself.

Seeing the cook annoyed and angry was truly a wonderful sight, but two days into this whole thing and it was starting to drain on him as well. He wanted nothing more than to go back to his regular routine of training, sleeping, eating, training, sleeping…this added inconvenience of his newly found 'significant other' was messing with his routine and he was beginning to hate it.

"Don't talk about Nami-swan that way!" Sanji snapped on reflex upon hearing the other man's negative tone.

"Keep your voice down you idiot!" Zoro hissed under his breath, well aware of the guards trailing them a few feet behind them.

"Whatever Marimo." Sanji sighed, keeping any additional thoughts to himself. He wanted nothing more than to be able to insult the shit head like he use to, and possibly kick him in the head, finding it almost physically painful to have to hold back.

And it had only been two days! They still had twelve to go! There were even moments when Sanji considered coming clean to the king and dealing with any punishment he might receive, believing that anything would be better than this torture…but he had to remind himself that doing that wouldn't only risk his life, but also Zoro's, and as much as the moss headed idiot pissed him off, he was still his nakama, and it wouldn't be fair to sell him out like that. It would probably also cause the king to question all the other lies Nami had told him, and could possibly put their entire crew in danger, and that was something he couldn't live with.

"Let's go in here." Sanji said suddenly, tugging the swordsman toward a shop they just passed by.

"I don't want to go into some fruity kitchen store." Zoro huffed, tugging back on their linked hands, causing Sanji to stop.

"But I really want to go look in here…darling," he hissed through clenched teeth, seeing the guards looking their way.

"But I don't _love,_ " he answered back, almost mockingly.

"Then you can wait for me out here…or not." Sanji snapped, but not loudly enough for the guards to hear. He dropped Zoro's hand and stormed off into the store, leaving Zoro standing alone on the street.

Sanji could feel his blood boil and wanted nothing more than to escape out the back and lose that moss headed idiot once and for all, but that idea was quickly lost when he saw everything the store had to offer.

And he wasn't just talking about the amazing kitchen appliances and utensils, which really were of the highest quality, but the workers and other customers were what really caught his eye.

There had to be at least 10 women in the store, each more beautiful than the last. And what made it even better was that there wasn't a Marimo or a guard in sight, so he could freely gawk to his hearts content, and just maybe forget about this horrendous ordeal, if only for a little while.

"Sanji? Is that you?" A soft voice practically purred in his ear. He instantly recognized the voice, and quickly turned around to see the familiar blonde goddess standing beside him. He didn't think it was possible, but she may have looked even more gorgeous then he remembered.

"Lucy! It's you!" He said, slightly stunned about seeing her. He was sure after they went their separate ways the other day, that there was no way he was ever going to see her again. He assumed that she would probably be heavily guarded, at least until he and his crew departed the island. "How did you get away from the guards?"

"It's wasn't that hard. They were standing watch outside my bedroom doors, but they never seem to realize just how easily I can escape out my window. No matter how many times it happens, they never learn." She giggled, biting her lower lip.

"I'm glad to hear that. I was worried that you would get in a lot of trouble after being spotted with me."

"As overprotective as my father is, all I really have to do is give him one of these looks," She says, demonstrating the look she was talking about, "and he can never stay mad at me."

"Yeah, that would work," Sanji quickly agreed, hearts lighting up in his eyes, and could almost feel himself melt into the floor.

"I'm actually surprised you're still here. I would have thought you and your crew would've escaped. Either that or that you had been imprisoned…" She trailed off, guilt heavy in her voice at the mention of that.

"Don't worry about that. We were able to work something out with your father, and now we're free to stay here until the log resets."

"Really?" She asked, almost not believing that her father would have accepted any excuse or deal, but wasn't about to question it, and was happy that the blonde man would be around for a little while longer.

The two of them continued their hushed conversation, becoming oblivious to the world around them.

Zoro entered the store in a huff, getting fed up with having to wait for the idiot cook…not to mention those guards just kept staring at him, and it was starting to give him the creeps.

He spotted the blonde right away, and he wasn't surprised to find him swooning over some pretty blonde girl. Did that moron ever think of anything else other than women? Didn't he realize that there were far more important things in life…like training, or booze? Not to mention if the guards were to follow him into the store they could get in serious trouble if they saw him practically drooling as he spoke to the woman. That idiot needed to work out his priorities...

But this did present him with a golden opportunity to embarrass the shit out of that asshole once again. He had been getting bored of trying to embarrass Sanji on the ship, because their crew had grown to use to the idea, but here in public, amongst his precious ladies, this little game could still prove to be fun.

He walked up beside the cook, who didn't seem to notice him because he was too distracted by his conversation with the blonde. He wrapped his arm around his waist and placed a kiss on his temple.

He could feel the blonde freeze up at the contact, and turn around very slowly, his eye twitching.

"Did you find what you were looking for love?" Zoro asked innocently, seeing the blonde's face instantly tint red, and there was a look of absolute mortification on his face…perfect.

"Now's not the time," Sanji hissed, stepping away from the green haired idiot.

"Is everything alright honey?" Zoro continued, ignoring the other man's protest, his voice dripping in fake concern. He loved the reaction he got out of the other man, who was now practically vibrating in anger.

"I didn't realize that you were…" Lucy trailed off, all of a sudden feeling very stupid for how she had flirted with a man that was clearly not interested. But she could have sworn that he had genuinely liked her…and he had kissed her before when he had been chased off by the guards. But maybe she had misunderstood it, and it was nothing more than a platonic goodbye gesture…she felt like a complete idiot.

She quickly tuned away, and rushed toward the back of the store, leaving out of the back exit, before she could humiliate her self any further.

"Lucy!" Sanji shouted after her, turning back to shoot a look at Zoro, "thanks a lot asshole!" He snapped before running after her.

"What the hell?" Zoro muttered, completely confused about what was going on. He knew his little show would piss the other man off, that was the whole point of it after all, but he hadn't been expecting a reaction like that.

She had just been some random girl he had been flirting with, right? Why then did she react the way she did? And why had the shitty cook gone after her?

Did he really care that much about what some random woman thought? A woman that he would probably never see again…

The thought annoyed him more then he would ever admit, but before he could contemplate it too much, he saw the front door of the shop open, and the two guards that had been tailing them earlier walk in. He quickly ducked behind one of the selves, slowly moving in the direction he saw Sanji and the woman go, hoping he could sneak out unseen.

If he hadn't been sure of it before he came to this island, he was sure of it now…that idiot was going to be the death of him.

…

"Lucy, wait!" Sanji shouted, finally catching up to her. He couldn't believe how fast she could run, and was a little embarrassed about how long it had taken him to catch up to her. He grabbed her wrist, and gently pulled her into a nearby ally. "It wasn't what it looked like."

"Really? Because it sure looked like you're gay, and that you've been letting me flirt with you like a complete idiot." She gasped out, still attempting to regain her breath.

"Remember how I said that we were able to work things out with your father?" He asked, receiving a hesitant nod from the woman standing before him, "well lying to him, and telling him I was gay and involved with one of my crew mates was the only way we could convince him that I wasn't a threat to you or any of the other women on the island. And what you saw was just Zoro being an asshole and trying to embarrass me in public, because he know that the guards are keeping a close eye on us, and that I can't retaliate when he does stuff like that."

"Really?" She asked, a little hesitantly. But when she thought about it, it was actually a brilliant excuse to escape her father's ridiculous laws, so maybe it wasn't so hard to believe after all.

"Yes," Sanji nodded, taking a chance by grabbing Lucy's hand, and giving it a light squeeze. "I know it's probably not a good idea for me to be saying this, because I have no idea where a guard could be hiding, but I really needed you to know the truth. Even if we can't see each other again, I couldn't stand the idea of such a sweet, beautiful woman, thinking that I deceived her in anyway."

"Thank you Sanji, that was very nice of you." She said quietly, a smile lighting up her face. "I really wish we could've met somewhere else, under different circumstances."

"Me too." Sanji agreed, leaning his forehead against hers. He could really smell her shampoo from this position, and couldn't help as his heart rate picked up as the smell of flowers surrounded him. It was such a sweet smell, one that would make you feel good, no matter what kind of mood you were in, and he couldn't help but think that that scent suited her perfectly.

He felt a pang of disappointment as he pulled away from her and saw the sad smile on her face.

He really did wish that they could've met under different circumstances and cursed the heavens for playing such a cruel game with him. Why did he have to meet his perfect woman on an island where he could only be seen with a certain moss-headed swordsmen? Life really wasn't fair…

"There you are," came a voice from the end of the ally…speaking of life not being fair…

"Now's not the time Zoro." Sanji sighed, all the usual fight present in his voice gone in that moment.

"Well I hate to break it to you, but whether now is the time or not doesn't matter because the guards are going to be here any minute. I thought I'd lost them, but it's like they have some sort of sixth sense of something."

"Either that or you got lost wandering around like a complete moron and it was all too easy for them to spot you."

"Why did I even bother trying to warn you!? I should've just found a place to hide and watch you get arrested, and then enjoyed the thought that you'd be rotting in a cell waiting to get your balls chopped off!"

"Shut the hell up Marimo! Before I…"

"He's right Sanji," Lucy said calmly, cutting off the blonde man before he could retort. Their voices had gotten steadily louder, and there was no doubt that the guards had heard them and that they would be there any moment. "If we were seen, it would've definitely ended in you getting arrested."

"Yeah, but…" He was cut off by her lips crashing against his, and couldn't help but forget everything in that moment. All his anger, annoyance, and disappointment for their current situation vanished, and he felt like his body was floating. Unfortunately the sensation didn't last long, as she quickly pulled away, ending the kiss. "Keep up your act and be safe, and maybe one day I'll leave this island and we can meet again."

And with those words, she gave his hand one final squeeze before turning around and running to the other end of the ally, before turning the corner and disappearing from sight.

It hurt to see her go, knowing that even if she did manage to leave this island one day it was very unlikely they would ever see each other again. The journey he and his crew were on was a long and dangerous one and only the strongest individuals would be able to go where they were going.

He continued to stare in the direction Lucy had left, not hearing Zoro walk up beside him. The green-haired man pulled Sanji into his arms, wrapping him tightly in an embrace.

Sanji was about to protest, when he caught a glimpse of the guards over Zoro's shoulder, and sighed before returning the embrace. He wrapped his arms around the larger man, leaning his head against his shoulder.

Normally he would absolute detest this, hating even being within 5 feet of the other man, but in that moment he strangely didn't mind.

He hadn't realized how much he had actually liked Lucy, figuring after the last time they had met that she was just another pretty face. But seeing her again had stirred up slightly stronger feelings, and he couldn't help but be genuinely disappointed, and borderline upset about the fact that he was likely never going to see her again.

And as weird as it was, having Zoro here was actually strangely comforting. Although he would die before he ever admitted that out loud.

"Are you all right?" Zoro asked quietly, causing Sanji to shudder, feeling his breath against his ear.

What was even stranger then finding comfort in Zoro's embrace was hearing concern in his words. He figured Zoro wasn't capable of caring about other people's feelings, with the exception maybe being Chopper who the swordsmen seemed to have a soft spot for.

Sanji simply nodded, and began to pull away. Feeling the other man's breath against his ear had made him realize just how close they had been, and whether it was comforting or not, it was way too close for his liking.

"Let's just get back to the ship." Sanji muttered after a few moments, not even flinching when the swordsman grabbed his hand.

The two of them walked in silence, Sanji enjoying the continued comfort Zoro's presence brought him. For what reason that it did he would never know, and in that moment he really didn't want to think about it. He was just glad that they had their little 'act' as an excuse, and would enjoy the walk back to the ship; for once not caring about the disappointed or confused looks they were receiving from all the beautiful women around them.

…

 **So any thoughts about this chapter? What do you think is going to happen? And would you like this to end up being a true ZoSan? Or should things remain platonic? I am open to suggestions!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So here is the next chapter! I'm glad I could get it up without making you wait too long. I want to thank everyone for their reviews and opinions and I definitely took them all into consideration. But you will have to wait and see if I decided to make it a true ZoSan or not. XD**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and would love to hear any thoughts you might have!**

He placed the final touches on the meal he prepared and took a step back to admire his handy work. The food smelled amazing and the presentation was exquisite as always, and seeing his creations laid out on the table in their perfection before calling the crew in to eat usually brought him a certain level of satisfaction…but today, just like yesterday, everything just seemed a little off.

Ever since he ran into Lucy two days ago, and they basically said their goodbyes, he hadn't been able to get the blonde woman out of his head. And he couldn't stop himself from wallowing in all the 'what if's' that kept popping into his mind. Like, what if they had met on a different island? Or what if the king wasn't completely insane and these ridiculous laws didn't exist? What if they had the opportunity to spend more time together? Would his feelings for her have continued to grow? Or would they have just spent one passionate night together before saying their goodbyes anyway? Or would she not even have given him a second look if he weren't virtually the only available man on the island?

He didn't like to think about the last question, feeling like Lucy was a better person then to use him simply because he was the only guy around, but in the end he really didn't know that much about her, and he would probably never know for sure. If he was in the same situation as her, and was stuck on an island filled with nothing but men, there was no doubt in his mind that he would try and seduce and use anything with breasts…so he couldn't even blame her if that was her only motive, but still, in his mind he liked to think that they could've genuinely had something if they were only given the opportunity.

He shook himself out of his thoughts, knowing that he shouldn't dwell on things that he can't change. And he hoped whatever little rut he was in didn't last long, and he could put the entire thing behind him. He hated feeling out of sorts, and desperately wanted to regain control of himself and his emotions.

"Dinner is ready!" He shouted through the door after taking one last moment to compose himself. As upset as he might have been, he put on a positive face, not wanting his crew mates to ask any unwanted questions. It was bad enough that Zoro seemed to know about his current situation, and he really didn't want to have to see concerned looks or listen to sympathetic nonsense from the other seven.

Although he had to give the moss-head credit, over the last 48 hours since their run in with Lucy, he was being surprisingly understanding. He had given him his space, and other then still having to share a bed with him at night, he had dropped the act and stopped constantly trying to embarrass him.

"WHERE'S MY MEAT!" A loud voice could be heard, before Luffy came crashing through the door, followed one by one by the rest of the crew. Luffy took his spot at the head of the table, the only spot with two plates placed in front of it.

Sanji had started making Luffy a second plate, as sort of a buffer, to try and slow him down enough for the rest of the crew to try and eat as much as they could before he began trying to steal their food. It seemed to work to a certain degree, but the second plate only slowed him down so much.

But the crew was use to it by now, and they knew if they didn't eat fast, that it probably meant that they didn't eat at all.

Dinner went by as usual, and it wasn't until everyone finished up that Nami made an announcement.

"One of the guards that was keeping watch on the ship today gave me an invitation from the king." She said, instantly grabbing the attention from everyone in the room…all accept Luffy, who was still finishing up any left overs left on anyone's plates.

"What did it say?" Chopped asked curiously.

"Apparently he wants us all to come to some ball being thrown at the castle. I guess it's one of his daughter's birthdays and he's throwing a big party in her honor."

Sanji's attention peaked at the mention of the king's daughters. He knew it wasn't likely that it was Lucy's birthday, her having eleven sisters and all, but she would know doubt be at the party. And if she was at the party then there was a good chance he would get to see her again…although he wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or not. Would seeing her again only make it harder when they had to say goodbye once again?

"And it doesn't really sound like saying no is an option…" Nami sighed, remembering the guards somewhat threatening tone when he had given her the invitation. This was definitely going to make their situation all the more difficult…it was one thing for everyone to keep up their respective 'acts' while the guards were watching from afar, but would they really be able to get through a night right under the king's nose? "So everybody really needs to work on their acts and be on their best behavior at this ball. I don't want any of you being arrested or killed because you're a bunch of idiots."

"Nami-swan! You're so beautiful when you're lecturing us!" Sanji said on reflex, but quickly regretted it when he received a punch to the back of the head. He should've seen that one coming…

"What did I say about the 'Nami-swan' stuff while were on this island! The ball is in two days so you better be prepared by then." Nami snapped, continuing to lecture the rest of the crew, or at least Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, and himself, because they were the only ones that really had to keep up any sort of act. Brook, Robin, and Chopper didn't have any lies to keep up with, and as long as Franky kept his non-robotic junk in his pants then he would be fine…though Franky being the pervert he was, that might be easier said then done.

The same thought must have occurred to Nami, because she was now demanding that Franky wear actual pants, and a shirt, to the ball. Normally he might argue that, but he knew better then to argue with Nami when she was like this, in fact they all did, so everyone kept silent and listened while Nami finished her lecture.

Afterwards conversations erupted around the table again, bringing the noise level in the galley up to its usual ear splitting levels, and providing Sanji with the perfect distraction to slip out unnoticed.

…

The evening had come and brought with it a chill in the air. It was a little colder than he was use to, but it certainly was no winter island, so he could suffer the slight breeze if it meant he could fill his lungs with nicotine in peace.

The crew's volume had continued to increase after Nami had finished her speech, which wasn't necessarily unusual for that group, and normally he could put up with it, but he had a lot on his mind right now and needed to escape to silence before his head exploded.

He couldn't stop thinking about the ball in two days, and the fact that he was likely going to see Lucy again. He had spent the last 48 hours trying to make his peace with the idea that he was never going to see her again, and that they had said their final goodbyes. Even though it had been somewhat of an upsetting thought he had slowly been getting use to the idea. After all they hadn't known each other for that long, and as strong as his feelings had seemed to be, he knew it wouldn't take much longer to move on.

But now karma was playing another dirty trick on him by forcing him to have to see her again. It wasn't bad enough that he had landed on an island full of beautiful women that he couldn't touch, and that he was forced to pretend to be with the Marimo, but on top of everything he had to go and fall for one of the most forbidden girls of all, and now he had to endure a night where he wouldn't even be able to look at her without risking getting arrested. He wasn't sure what he did to deserve such unfair karmic justice, but whatever it was must have been bad.

"You'll freeze out here shit cook." An all too familiar voice said from behind him. He didn't even bother to look up, not in the mood to deal with any of the idiots, let along the biggest idiot of all.

Zoro stopped when he saw that Sanji hadn't even flinched at his remark. Usually he would have turned around and told him to shut his mouth before he shut it for him…or something to that effect.

He knew the cook hadn't been in the best of moods since their run in with that girl the other day, but he still couldn't quite figure out why. Still he decided to give the other man some space, and kept his distance. As much as he loved teasing the cook and getting a rise out of him, it wasn't much fun if the other man was genuinely upset about something and didn't put up a fight.

Whatever the idiot's problem was he had figured that he would be over it by now, but apparently not. Could that woman he barely knew really have such an effect on him? Sure when it came to women the blonde seemed to fall hard pretty quickly, but he was usually over it in a matter of minutes, or by the time he laid eyes on the next woman. So what was so different this time?

"Here," he grumbled, setting a plate down on the side of the ship, next to where Sanji was leaning. "You made it, so I figured I'd better rescue at least one piece from our bottomless pit of a captain."

"Thanks." Sanji muttered, barely looking over at the piece of pie sitting next to him. He wasn't sure he could even eat it if he wanted to.

"Alright, what the hells wrong with you!" Zoro snapped, becoming increasingly frustrated with the cooks mopey attitude.

The cook was supposed to be his rival! His sparing partner! The person that pissed him off more than anything in the world, and he annoyed the shit out of him in return. It might not have been the most functional of relationships but it worked. And as much as he hated to admit it, he missed his rival, he didn't care for this quiet, subdue, melancholy Sanji.

"Nothing," the blonde sighed, annoying Zoro even further.

"Obviously something's wrong. You don't go walking around with a dark cloud over your head for two days if it's nothing. You didn't even spare Robin or Nami any lovesick glances at all the past couple of days…" That had been one of the biggest red flags in Zoro's mind. Even since they had arrived at this island and started their little 'charade' the cook still managed to secretly fawn over his female crewmates, so the fact that he had barely acknowledged them anymore then the rest of the crew meant something was seriously wrong.

"I said it's nothing." Sanji said, a small hint of annoyance starting to appear in his voice, which only spurred Zoro on.

"Is this about that blonde you nearly got us caught for the other day?"

"I don't want to talk to you about this…"

"Did you fall in love with her or something?" Zoro continued, seeing the blonde's stupid curly eyebrow begin to twitch. It was working…

"Shut up."

"How can you fall in love with someone you barely know? Does she have a gold plated pussy or something?"

And there it was, the reaction he had been hoping to get from the beginning…though he hadn't been kicked by the cook in a while and it hurt a lot more than he remembered.

Zoro stumbled to the ground after trying to keep his balance but failing miserably. He fell on his ass, wincing at the pain that shot through him, but didn't really care. He had succeeded in his goal of snapping that idiot out of his funk.

"Don't talk about her like that you moss-headed asshole!"

"So it was the girl," he concluded, pulling himself to his feet, but staying a good distance away from the other man this time. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"Because, I don't want to talk about it!" he snapped, grinding his teeth so hard that he actually bit his cigarette in half, the lit part falling on to the deck, before spitting the other half in the swordsmen's direction.

"I didn't think you were capable of having real feelings…I assumed you were only capable of thinking with your dick."

"Shut up shit-head, before I make you shut up!" Sanji hissed, causing Zoro to smile despite himself. Now here was the Sanji he knew and lo…he definitely wouldn't say loved. The Sanji he knew and…tolerated? Yeah, that was definitely closer…

"You need to stop being such a whiney little bitch and get over this." Zoro said, an idea coming to him before Sanji could reply. He moved forward, catching the other man off guard, pushing him against the side of the ship, and boxing him in by placing his arms on either side of him.

He could see the furry clearly on the other man's face, but knew that he wouldn't do anything. Sanji had caught sight of the guards that had appeared next to their ship just as well as he had.

"We're going to go out on a date tomorrow, just you and me." He said loudly and clearly enough for the guards to hear.

"What the hell is you're problem?" Sanji hissed under his breath. Just because he couldn't push the idiot away because they were being watched didn't mean that he was going to agree to whatever ridiculous idea he was concocting. "Did you break into the booze cabinet again?"

"Yes…but that's beside the point." Zoro spoke a little more quietly this time so only Sanji could hear. "You're starting to annoy everyone with this depressed little act of yours."

"Am I annoying everyone, or am I just annoying you?" Sanji countered, narrowing his eyes at the swordsmen.

"It doesn't matter." Zoro muttered, getting more and more annoyed himself. Didn't the idiot realize he was trying to help? "Tomorrow we are going to get off this ship, you're going to clear your head, maybe even swoon over a few of the other women on this island, and then you're going to go back to your annoying dumb fuck self…."

"Didn't realize you cared so much Marimo, that just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside." He said sarcastically, adding a roll of his eyes for good measure.

Zoro scoffed, pushing himself away from the blonde, before turning away. He didn't know why but he could feel his face begin to heat up, and he didn't want to give the idiot cook the satisfaction of seeing him blush. They might not like each other that much, but they were still nakama…which meant they were obligated to at least pretend to care for each other, and that was all he was doing.

"Be ready to go after lunch tomorrow." He muttered before walking away, leaving a snickering cook behind.

Sanji laughed, for the first time in days, not missing the blush that had crept up on the other man's face, despite his best efforts to hide it. He would have to remember to give him a hard time about that later, but for now he lit another cigarette, before picking up the plate that held a piece of the cherry pie he had made earlier.

As frustrating as that moss-headed idiot could be, he couldn't deny that he had his moments. Whether it was comforting Chopper anytime he was scared or upset, or putting his life on the line to help defend their crew and their ship…saving him the last piece of pie might not have fallen into the same category, but he knew it must not have been easy considering he probably had to fight Luffy for it.

And despite some of the things he had just said and did that pissed him off, he knew what the Marimo was just trying to do, he was trying to make him feel better, in his own, messed up, sort of way. And for whatever reason it seemed to have worked.

The fight that he had lost within him a couple of days ago seemed to come surging back, and all of a sudden he felt like he could do anything. Whether it was tolerating Zoro tomorrow on their so called 'date', or seeing Lucy again at the ball the day after that. That prospect didn't seem so upsetting any more, and he was actually looking forward to it.

Even though he wouldn't be able to touch her, hold her, or kiss her, like he so badly wanted to, he was beginning to feel like simply being near her was going to be enough.

He would have to thank the Marimo for snapping him out of his depression and making him realize that…but who was he kidding, he would never actually humiliate himself by thanking him…maybe he would just thank him by leaving the booze cabinet unlocked for the next couple of days?

He nodded to himself deciding that that was more than enough. He flicked his cigarette over the edge of the ship; 'accidently' hitting one of the guards, before turning back toward the galley to start the long clean up, feeling like himself for the first time in two days.

 **A/N: So any thoughts? What should our boys do on their 'date'? And who is looking forward to what's going to happen at the ball? Let me know what you think! And thanks for reading XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait. I usually try and write a bunch of chapters out ahead of time before I post them, but with this story I'm writing as I'm going and sometimes it's hard to find the time, let alone the inspiration. Not to mention I'm nearing the end of another story, so it's kind of my priority right now to get that one done. But once it is done this will be my sole focus, so hopefully chapters will come quicker. For now though I thank you for your patience and promise to try and not keep you waiting too long.**

 **A special thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, as well as anyone who favorited or followed this story. I appreciate it a lot, and hope you all enjoy this next chapter! It hasn't been beta'd so I apologize for any mistakes. And be sure to let me know what you think! :D**

The next morning Sanji woke up in a surprisingly good mood…well other then the fact that he was waking up next to a smelly swordsmen who obviously didn't shower after training yesterday, rather than a soft, sweet-scented woman…but all things considered he was feeling pretty good.

The previous two days he had been walking around feeling numb, and hated himself for letting his feelings get the better of him. But now he was actually feeling back to his old self, and was more than looking forward to tomorrows ball. He was prepared to deal with whatever happened, as long as he got the chance to see Lucy.

Sanji looked down at the man beside him, who was still fast asleep, and snoring rather loudly. It was a miracle he was able to sleep at all next to someone who literally sounded like a lawnmower…which considering he had grass for hair was pretty ironic. Although he usually slept in the boy's sleeping quarters, where several of his male crewmates snored, so he supposed he should be use to it.

Sanji couldn't help but think how peaceful Zoro looked while he slept. During the day he usually had some form or another of a scowl on his face, always looking either bored or serious. Unless he was in battle, then he looked either insane or demonic. But right now he looked completely different…almost innocent in a way.

He usually looked a lot older then he really was, but right now he almost looked vulnerable…childlike. It was sort of strange to see him like this, and almost felt like he was violating the other man's privacy by even looking.

He turned his head away quickly, before standing up, deciding he didn't want to see him like that anymore. It was a little unnerving, and it might make the possibility of kicking his ass later a little more difficult.

Instead he began picturing Lucy, and tried to think about what he might say to her when he saw her at the ball tomorrow, pushing any remaining images of the sleeping swordsmen out of his head.

…

The rest of the morning passed by quickly. With Sanji cooking a big breakfast, with plenty of meat at their captains request, as well as pre-making lunch for everyone. He had just finished cleaning up when Zoro appeared in the galley doorway, a bag slung across his shoulder.

"Ready to go shit cook?" He asked, and Sanji couldn't help but note the typical scowl that had returned to his face. The young, innocent Zoro from earlier was long gone, he almost couldn't believe they were the same person.

"Go where?"

"Did you forget? We have a date to get started." Zoro said, rolling his eyes at the blonde's forgetfulness.

"I didn't think you were actually serious about that…" Sanji deadpanned, looking at Zoro confused. The idiot didn't actually expect them to spend the day together did he? They were already forced to spend way more time together then either of them would ever care for, so why make it even worse?

"Why wouldn't I have been serious? I said I was going to help you get your mind off of things, and that's just what I'm going to do."

"But I'm already feeling better, so we really don't have to…" Sanji began, but was quickly cut off.

"Don't be an ass, just come on!" Zoro snapped, feeling his annoyance levels already reaching maximum capacity.

"I'm not an ass you moss-headed bastard!" Sanji snapped back, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

He swung his left leg up, hoping to catch the swordsmen off guard to no such luck. Zoro quickly dodged the kick, grabbing the cook's ankle and holding his leg up for good measure.

"Are you done throwing your hissy fit?" Zoro snorted, keeping a firm grip on the blonde's leg. "Or do you want me to go tell the guards how we broke up because you cheated on me with one of the women on the island."

"Are you threatening me Marimo?" Sanji hissed, narrowing his eyes at his crewmate.

"Is it working?" The smugness in his words and face were almost intolerable.

"Fine! God…you're such a child." The blonde snapped, rolling his eyes. As much as he would've liked to stay on the ship that day, and plot out what he was going to say when he saw Lucy at the ball tomorrow, it wouldn't be worth it if the idiot swordsmen was going to be hanging around pestering him all day…not to mention he wouldn't put it past him to actually tell the guards that they broke up and purposely throwing suspicion on him. And if he had to choose between being arrested and spending the day with the Marimo…well it was actually a harder decision to make then it probably should have been. He sighed, might as well bite the bullet and get whatever idiotic plan he had over with. "Where are we going?"

"What? And ruin the surprise? I'm afraid you will just have to wait and find out."

…

"The beach…you brought me to a beach?" Sanji asked in a state of disbelief. This was his master plan? Really? He had actually been expecting a little more from him, after the way he was bragging about his brilliant plan for the day, though now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure why he would've expected anymore. "You realize we're pirates right? It's not like I haven't seen a beach before…"

"Yeah, but have you been to a beach like this?" Zoro asked, smirking once the blonde finally looked up and saw every thing this particular beach had to offer.

The white sandy shores were pristine and well kept, and seemed to go on for miles. The ocean was a bright blue, the water crystal clear. As far as beaches went it really was a surprisingly nice one…but that wasn't the main attraction of this place. Every inch of that beach was currently occupied with women…beautiful women…all in varying degrees of undress. Ranging from modest sundresses, to one-piece swimsuits, to bikinis, to…to…boobs! Boobs visible for the entire world to see! Before Sanji could properly process what he was seeing, a violent eruption of blood gushed out of his nose, sending him flying back until he hit the ground.

Zoro smirked at the cook's reaction; he figured he would like this place. This was a clothing optional beach, an option many of the women here seemed to forgo. He found it the other day when he was wandering around trying to find the ship, that the rest of the crew seemed to have moved for whatever reason…he ended up on the other side of the island and spotted this place. He shrugged it off at first, but when he was trying to think of ways to snap the idiot cook out of his funk, this place seemed like the perfect idea.

He might not understand why the cook was as big of a pervert as he was, and why he absolutely lost his shit at the sight of a beautiful woman, and frankly he wasn't sure if he wanted to understand. He could appreciate a good-looking woman sure, but as far as his priorities went it just never really ranked that high.

And despite how annoying he might find it every time the blonde flipped his shit over a woman, he had gotten use to it over time, and now accepted it as part of him. And after watching him mope around for days, he decided that he would rather see the cook as his usual pervy, irritating self, than depressed.

Despite what people might think about him, and how they might perceive him as cold and uncaring, he genuinely cared about his nakama and only ever wanted to see them happy…even the cook.

So hopefully being here will cheer the idiot up, and remind him that there is more than one woman out there, so when he eventually did see her tomorrow that he wouldn't fall into a depression again when it came time to say goodbye.

"What's going on here?" A gruff, irritated voice came from behind them. Zoro turned around to see the two guards that had followed them there eyeing Sanji suspiciously, who was still lying on the ground, blood trickling out of his nose.

A pain shot through Sanji's ribs, causing him to snap out of his daze, glaring up at the shirtless green-haired bastard who had just kicked him…wait, when did he take his shirt off?

"Sorry about that, he always gets a little too excited when I take my shirt off." Zoro chuckled nervously, pulling the blonde to his feet. "He's a little trigger happy when it comes to anything sexual, but I love him anyway."

As annoyed as Sanji would normally be in that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care. Zoro had brought him to heaven on earth, so if they had to keep up their charade in that moment, it was more than worth it.

"Can you blame me?" Sanji purred, slipping flawlessly into character. "Look at this body!"

He ran one of his hands down the Marimo's chest, resting his hand on his abdominal muscles. He could see that his little display worked, when the guards looked away awkwardly, and put a little more distance between them and the 'couple'.

Sanji gave a satisfied smirk, turning back to the swordsmen to see a bonus of the other man blushing. It took a lot to embarrass the green-haired man, so he considered this a job well done.

After the guards seemed satisfied with their display, Zoro shoved the bag he had been carrying into the other man's arms. He figured if they were going to do the beach, it would look a little suspicious if they had sat there fully clothed.

"What's this?" Sanji asked curiously opening the bag. "What the hell you shitty Marimo! Are you expecting me to actually wear this!?"

"Yes, it totally suits your character more." Zoro smirked as the other man's face tinted red.

"I'm not wearing this!"

"Well then we will have to leave because we would look to suspicious if you sat there in a suit!"

Sanji was about to turn around and leave right then and there; he was _not_ going to give the green haired bastard that satisfaction of forcing him into _that._ But when a particularly beautiful woman walked by wearing nothing but a towel around her waist, he could feel his iron clad resolve break.

"I hate you Marimo."

…

Sanji shifted uncomfortably, hating the way the small amount of fabric clung to him so tightly. He felt exposed, and ridiculous, but swallowed his pride and exited the small wooden changing room anyways, stepping out into the sun.

He instantly heard the sound of near hysterical laughter coming from beside him, and snapped his head to the side to see the swordsmen doubled over, clutching his sides as his body wracked with laughter.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing." Sanji snapped taking a cigarette out of the pack he still clutched tightly in his hand.

"It's a good look for you," Zoro chuckled, his laughter beginning to die down as he properly took in the sight of the cook before him.

He was wearing nothing but a pair of sandals, and the small piece of black fabric he had bought earlier specifically for this purpose. After deciding that he was going to take the cook to this beach to help get over his stupid heart ache, he couldn't resist the opportunity to embarrass him just a little bit, and this seemed like the perfect way.

For a man who prided himself on how he looked, and put a lot of care into his appearance, Zoro knew walking around in a swimsuit that was little more than a thong would be a huge humiliation. But now that he was actually seeing the shit cook in it, he couldn't help but think that he looked nowhere as ridiculous as he had thought he would…in fact he actually sort of pulled it off, in a weird sort of way...

The black material of the swimsuit contrasted his pale white skin perfectly, clinging tightly to his hips, covering up only what was necessary. He had never seen the cook in this state of undress before. Sure he had seen him in normal swimming trunks, but never anything quite like this. He was a little surprised about the size of bulge the tiny swimsuit revealed. He never realized how well endowed the cook really was.

Not that he assumed he was small, despite making jokes about it to the blonde. But if he was as big as appeared to be he might have even been bigger then himself, and he was definitely above average in that department.

He quickly snapped his eyes away once he realized he had been staring, and prayed to God that the cook hadn't noticed. The last thing he needed was for the blonde to catch him staring at his junk…not that he had been staring, he was just…observing.

He allowed his eyes to continue to travel up the cook's body. He really did have a good build to him; nowhere near as good as his own, but whose was? But still, despite seeming to spend all day every day in the kitchen he must find some time to work out, not that he ever saw him do so…unless he got that fit simply from being in the kitchen all day…maybe he should take up cooking himself if it really was that good of a workout…wait, why was he thinking about this?

He tore his eyes away from the blonde, but apparently not fast enough.

"Better take a picture moss-head, you're never going to see me in anything like this again," Sanji smirked, seeing the blush begin to heat up his face.

"I was just looking at how ridiculous you look. I'm embarrassed to be seen with you." Zoro muttered, ignoring the sound of the cook's snort as he led the way to the blanket he had set up a little ways away.

Stupid cook… like he would ever want a picture of _that._ He just happened to appreciate strength, and even though he had seen the cook prove his strength in battle time and time again, to be reminded by seeing the physical proof of it was something that he didn't get to see often, and something he could admire.

Sanji sat down on the blanket next to the swordsmen, putting on a pair of sunglasses the Marimo had thankfully thought to bring along. Now he could look around without it being too obvious that he was looking around.

He couldn't believe that a place like this actually existed on an island that had such strict laws, not that he was complaining or anything, it just seemed a little contradictory. But he supposed when there were no men on the island that were able to take advantage of the women, no matter their state of undress, that it didn't really matter if they walked around with it all hanging out or not.

He briefly felt guilty for seeing these women like this…women were beautiful Goddesses that deserved to be worshiped and taken care of, not ogled by men with impure thoughts…but who was he kidding, as gentlemanly as he tried to be, he was a nineteen year old male! What else was he supposed to do at a nude beach if not ogle? He would make it up to the fairer sex later by doting extra on Nami-swan and Robin-cwan…speaking of Nami and Robin, how amazing would it be if they happened to show up here…

"Careful nosebleed, wouldn't want you to bleed out…that would be tragic." Zoro's sarcastic tone snapped him out of his wonderful fantasy, irritating him beyond belief.

"Shut up dumbass," Sanji snapped, subtly wiping his nose, only to be annoyed when it turned out that it was in fact bleeding again. "Bastard…" He muttered.

"You better also try and calm yourself a bit…wearing such a teeny tiny swim suit, you wouldn't want to get too excited…"

"Well then you should have brought me proper sized trunks like yours!" Sanji hissed, glaring at the knee length swimming trunks the green haired bastard was currently wearing…they were green of course. Now that he thought of it, almost every outfit he had ever seen the Marimo wear always involved some sort of green, did he really think that color looked that good? Although to be fair, with that hair color, he supposed there wasn't as much he could do, and that green usually ended up looking best on him…not that he ever looked particularly good or anything.

"I wanted our charade to be more convincing, so I figured those trunks would work best."

"Yeah right, you probably have just been secretly dying to check me out this entire time, you perv."

" _You're_ calling _me_ a perv, that's rich," Zoro snorted. "Don't flatter yourself cook. Like I would really want to look at your pasty white ass."

"Just keep telling yourself shitty swordsmen."

"Keep dreaming shit cook."

The two remained silent afterwards, Sanji becoming too distracted by the view to keep up the weak argument. He was thoroughly enjoying himself, when he caught a flash of long blonde hair, and for the briefest moment his heart rate picked up as he thought of the possibility that it was Lucy.

The woman soon turned around and it turned out not to be her…which he should've known better. Even if she did manage to sneak out of the castle from time to time, would she really risk going to a nude beach during her brief bouts of freedom? Of course not…

All the same, now that she had popped into his head, he couldn't seem to shake it, even with all these different women walking around.

Zoro sighed from beside him, taking the silence as opportunity to get a little shut-eye…it wasn't like there was anything else to do. He cursed himself for being stupid enough not to bring any sake along. He should've known he would need it if he was suppose to spend the day with the cook.

"Hey Zoro," Sanji said, interrupting his sleep. He would've been annoyed normally if it wasn't for the tone he used. There was something almost sad about it…which kind of confused him. He brought the cook to a nude beach that contained nothing but beautiful women. It was like Luffy in a room of meat! Or Nami surrounded by a pile of gold! What did he possibly have to be sad about?

"What?" He asked, opening his eyes, leaning up on his elbows to get a better look at the blonde.

"Do you… do you believe there is someone out there for everyone?"

"What the hell cook? Where is that coming from?" Zoro snorted, completely thrown off by the cook's question.

"Never mind, forget it, I should have known better then to have a real conversation with a moss-brained bastard like you." Sanji hissed, turning over so that his back was now facing the other man.

"Awww, don't pout curly-brow," Zoro teased, "I thought you were joking…but are you talking about soul mates or something?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Sanji sighed, turning back toward his crewmate. "Like do you believe there is one perfect person out there for everyone? And that if you find that person and let them go, then are you destined to be miserable the rest of your life?"

Zoro would've thought that the blonde was just messing with him, but there was something about the way he spoke and the look on his face that told him that he wasn't joking around.

"Honestly? Honestly, no…I don't believe in God or fate or soul mates… I believe everyone has the power to create their own future and that it's the decisions we make and the work we put in that defines us. And when it comes to love, I'm not going to pretend that I really know anything about that, because I don't, but when it comes to soul mates I don't think they exist. Anyone could potentially love anyone under the right circumstances…and I don't believe that just because you met one girl who was beautiful, and sweet, that letting her go is going to mean that you will end up miserable the rest of your life."

Sanji looked a little surprised at receiving a serious answer from the other man. He took a moment to let what he said sink in, and couldn't help but smirk. "Look at you being a half decent human being for once…"

"Your shit personality on the other hand…now that might end up leaving you miserable the rest of your life."

"And there goes that shred of decency," Sanji hissed, "Idiot."

"Culry-brow,"

"Moss-head,"

"Pervert cook,"

"Drunk,"

The two continued to trade insults back and forth for a while, until they began to run low on them.

"Three sword style doesn't even make sense…"

"Well the rice balls you made the other day, were slightly over salted…"

"What? Really?" Sanji asked, legitimately worried.

"Well, no…"

Sanji laughed, secretly relieved that the Marimo didn't really have a problem with his cooking. Not that he would care if he did…or at least admit that he cared if he did.

"Aww, you like the taste of my balls?" Sanji asked, probably louder then what was necessary. "I'm of course referring to my rice balls…" He adds as an after thought, but much quieter.

"Laugh it up cook," Zoro sneers, ignoring the looks they were now getting as a result of Sanji's raised voice. He reaches over and grabs the cook. The action catches Sanji by surprise, and before he can even comprehend what is going on, he ends up flat on his back, with his hands pinned above his head.

"You going to apologize?" Zoro says in what can only be described as a threatening tone…threatening if you were anyone but Sanji.

"Screw you moss for brains."

"I didn't want to have to do this, but it looks like you're not giving me a choice..." Zoro says, lowering one of his hands, and bringing it to the blonde's side. "Last chance."

"You wouldn't."

"I warned you," Zoro lets out a sinister chuckle as he begins moving his fingers along the cook's side.

"You bastard!" Sanji manages to get out between pained laughs. "Stop it!"

"Not until you apologize…"

"Fine! Fine! I'm sorry alright!" Sanji nearly shouts. He didn't know how Zoro knew he was so ticklish, or if he even knew at all, but it was what he considered to be one of his few weaknesses. He just hoped that the swordsmen wouldn't take note of that…

"So you're ticklish, huh? I'll remember that."

…Well so much for that.

Zoro rolls off the other man, and lies back down on the blanket. As fun as messing with the cook is, this whole thing has seriously messed with the nap he had planned for that afternoon and he doesn't appreciate it.

He's about to drift off, when he suddenly feels a weight come down on his chest. His eyes snap open only to see the blonde hair of the cook's fanning across his chest and shoulder.

"The guards are watching." Sanji answers before Zoro can even ask.

And sure enough, when Zoro looks up he sees the two guards that had followed them there had moved in a little closer. This whole thing was starting to get pretty old…

"Whatever," Zoro sighs, "just don't disturb my sleep."

"Right, right, I know that moss growing out of your head drains a lot out of you, and that you need your 20 hours of sleep a day," Sanji says smirking at his own joke.

He lies silently for a few moments, his head still on Zoro's chest. He had assumed that this would be terribly uncomfortable, with the amount of muscles the Marimo had, he figured it would be like lying on a brick wall, but that wasn't the case at all. It was surprisingly comfortable, not to mention warm, and as if against his will, his eyes seem to begin to droop, growing heavy with sleep.

As he lie there, he went over what Zoro had said earlier about the whole soul mate thing, and how it was all basically bull shit. He definitely fancied himself somewhat of a romantic, and in his heart he always wanted to believe in soul mates, that there was one perfect person out their for everyone…and for the briefest moment, after meeting Lucy, he was convinced that he had found his. That there was no way that she couldn't be his soul mate…which was why the idea of saying good bye to her and never seeing her again had been so depressing. So despite the Marimo being a complete moron when it came to love, and not having a romantic bone in his body, it was actually some what reassuring to hear him say that just because he would eventually have to leave Lucy behind didn't mean that he would be miserable and was destined to end up alone.

And not only that, but Zoro had actually went out of his way to cheer him up, and bring him to a place like this, that the swordsmen really had no interest in. Despite him being an annoying bastard, he was actually being surprisingly understanding when it came to what he was going through…he was almost being compassionate, which was certainly something new for the moss head. Unless it involved Chopper, or in certain circumstances their captain, he was usually a grumpy asshole.

But whatever his reasons were, he found that he genuinely appreciated it, despite himself.

"Hey Marimo," Sanji yawned; receiving a grunt as answer from the man he was lying on. "Thank you."

Sanji can feel the man below him tense, if only for the briefest moments, before he relaxes again.

"Don't mention it shit cook…" Zoro replies lazily, "Seriously though, don't mention it. I don't want the rest of the crew thinking I actually turned you queer with this touchy feely talk of yours."

"I'm going to slip you some arsenic tomorrow you bastard." Sanji replies, but the comment is lacking its usual level of venom.

"As long as you put it in some sake, I'll die happy."

"Noted," Sanji yawns, absentmindedly placing his hand on Zoro's abdomen, where he drifts to sleep hearing the slightly increased heart beat of the swordsmen below him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everyone. I want to apologize for the wait. But as I mentioned in my profile, updates for this fic are likely to be very slow. Not only have I been super busy with the holidays, but I'll be starting school up again next week, and my schedule this coming semester is going to be a lot more hectic then my previous one. Not only that but I seemed to have lost a little bit of inspiration for this story, and it is really hard to try and force myself to write something, when there is no motivation or inspiration there. I'm sure any of you that also write fiction can understand that.**

 **That all being said, I do intend to finish this story. I'm not the kind of person that can just walk away from something, so no matter what, I promise I will finish this eventually. It just might take a while. I do apologize to anyone who is following this story, and hope you will understand and be patient.**

 **Thank you to anyone who reviewed the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one.**

"Alright, everyone get in line so I can do a final check over of you all." Nami said sternly, throwing anyone who protested a look that let them know it was best not to argue. They were about to leave for the castle and she wanted to make sure that everybody was at their best…it was already going to be hard enough to pull this off, without one of these idiots ruining it by wearing something ridiculous. "Luffy! You can't smuggle in all that meat!"

"But Nami! What if I get hungry!?" The raven-haired captain whined, shifting uncomfortably in the suit that Nami had forced him into earlier.

"We are going to a banquet at a castle! I'm pretty sure there will be food!"

"But what if I get hungry on the way?! Or what if they run out of meat?!" He pouted as the irritated navigator pulled the last of the meat from his pockets.

"I keep telling you that we can't afford to screw this up! It's almost like you all want to get arrested or something!" Nami snapped, sighing when she saw a few members of her crew flinch. "I'm sorry okay…I don't mean to be harsh, I just don't want anything to happen to any of you."

"Thanks Nami," the captain said, grinning from ear to ear. "I know you're just trying to help."

"Besides, if you get any meat juice on that suit I won't be able to return it and then you will have to pay me back with 200% interest."

"And there it is," Zoro rolled his eyes, earning him an elbow in the ribs from the blonde standing next to him.

"Don't talk about Nami-swan like that!" Sanji hissed.

"I didn't say anything!"

"You implied something rude!"

"Oh, boo fucking hoo."

"Watch it Marimo, if you know what's good for you!" Sanji snapped, feeling his blood begin to boil. He couldn't believe he ever thought that Zoro could be anything other then an annoying, foul-mouthed, brute that didn't give two shits about anyone else.

After everything that he had done yesterday, from taking him to the beach, to listening to him when he talked, he had almost thought that the Marimo was a half decent human being…but that must've just been a fluke, because today he seemed to be the same irritating bastard he always was.

"What are you going to do about it shit cook!? I'd slice you in half before you could even lift one of your fancy feet!" Zoro snapped back. He honestly didn't know where all this was coming from, but he couldn't seem to help himself. It wasn't like arguing with the cook was anything new, but he didn't usually go out of his way to start a fight like this.

Yesterday had been a weird day...there was no other way to describe it. He knew what he was in for when he took Sanji to the nude beach like that, but he hadn't been expecting the day to go like it had. And he certainly hadn't expected to wake up on the beach, with a sleeping Sanji curled around him, and for his heart to be pounding in his chest like it had. He had no idea where that reaction came from, and convinced himself he was simply embarrassed to be seen in such a position with the blonde, especially considering what the blonde had been wearing…

But still he hadn't been able to look the cook in the eyes for the rest of that day, or at all this morning…so when he saw the opportunity to start an argument, he took it…this whole charade had been messing with his mind and he wanted to regain a small amount of normalcy, and what was more normal then annoying the shit out of the blonde?

"Just try it you stick swinging Neanderthal!" Sanji growled, getting up in his face.

"I'll make you regret that cook!" Zoro hissed, about to unsheathe one of his swords, when he felt a sharp pain in his ear.

"NAMI!" Both men cried out, as she yanked their ears even harder.

"Did you not hear a word I just said to Luffy!? Do you want to be arrested? Because it seems you do with the way you've been acting! We can't afford to screw this up! So you better kiss and make up, and play the damn part for the rest of the evening! You can kill each other for all I care after we get off this island! But before then, you better behave yourselves!" She let go of their ears after giving them one final yank.

"I'm sorry Nami my sweet." Sanji mumbled, while Zoro simply crossed his arms and glared at the woman in question.

Nami turned away from the two idiots toward the rest of the crew so she could finish her inspection.

"Franky…" Nami sighed, "Go put on the pants that came with the suit."

"But…"

"Wearing a black speedo with a bowtie on the front doesn't make it less perverted. Now go put on the damn pants!"

She sighed again…they were doomed.

…

The castle seemed to be a lot grander and bright this time compared to when they were here last. But seeing as they were here for a party, rather than to be interrogated by the king and possibly arrested, it made sense that the place might have a calmer, more relaxed atmosphere to it.

The ballroom itself was beyond impressive, Luffy commenting that you could probably fit a hundred Sunnys in there…which was of course an exaggeration, but the more they looked around, they realized it wasn't an exaggeration by much.

Several large tables ran vertically across one side of the room, where the dinner was likely going to be served. There was also a massive dance floor, complete with what could be described as a small orchestra to provide the music.

The ceiling had a dome shape to it, with several elegant chandeliers hanging from it. The moment Nami spotted Luffy staring at them with mischievous eyes, she sighed, keeping them all in line, as well as in character, was going to be a hell of a lot harder than she thought. She just hoped the others that didn't have to put on any act, like Robin, Brook, and Chopper, would help her keep an eye on things. But she took another quick look around and noticed that everybody had already scattered.

"Well shit," she muttered to herself, scanning the room to see what disaster she would have to prevent first, and just like she thought, it involved their captain. He was getting dangerously close to one of the chandeliers, and she knew that look in his eyes.

She darted across the room, and tackled him to the ground before he could even begin stretching his arms and grabbing for it.

"Hey Nami!" Luffy whined, rubbing his head where it had smacked into the ground. "I was just…"

"No…"

"But…"

"I said no!"

"But I'm supposed to be acting childish, remember?" Luffy said some what smugly, crossing his arms, as if daring her to challenge that.

"Your supposed to be acting 15, not like some immature monkey! Besides, do you know how much that chandelier likely costs? We probably wouldn't even be able to sell the Sunny to cover the cost if you broke it. So like I said before, no."

"This is going to be so boooooooooring." Luffy whined once more, clawing at the tie around his neck in a desperate attempt to loosen it, before Nami smacked his hands away.

"Look over there! Meat!" Nami said, pointing toward a snack table that had just been stocked up with various appetizer items. Luffy didn't have to be told twice, and was off toward the table before she could even blink.

"Sort of feel bad for those waiters right now, but at least that should keep him distracted for a couple of minutes…now who's next…" She mumbled to herself, before taking off in the direction she saw Usopp. His lie was probably one of the harshest, and she just prayed that he was managing all right with it.

But as she got close enough to hear the conversation going on, and how Usopp was telling one of the guards about how he single handily took down an army of giants, she turned back around. She should've realized he wouldn't have a problem maintaining that façade.

Now for the most worrisome of all…she spotted Zoro and Sanji near the bar. She assumed Zoro was probably already a few drinks in, despite arriving here just moments ago, and Sanji wasn't looking too please with him. This could spell trouble real quick…

"Why don't you slow down you drunk!?" Sanji snapped, and the idiot swordsmen shot back yet another drink.

"It's a party…" Zoro shrugged, ordering another.

"A party at a castle, for some princess's birthday. It's not some wild party for you to get hammered at! Plus we're already on thin ice with the king!"

"Don't worry, I don't get drunk…but if I'm going to have to deal with you all night, I at least need a slight buzz."

"You're such an ass!" Sanji hissed, about to snatch the drink out of the damned Marimo's hands, and then possibly toss it in his face, when his beautiful Nami-swan walked up to them, wearing one of her oh so beautiful glares.

"What's going on?" She asked through clenched teeth, a forced smile never leaving her face.

"The Marimo is trying to get drunk."

"I am not!"

"Would you two stop it," she hissed, ignoring the swordsmen's glare as she grabbed the drink from his hand, and shot it back herself. She enjoyed the burning sensation the alcohol caused as it slid down her throat, thinking that she would likely need a few more of those if she wanted to get through the night, before she turned her attention back to her two crewmates and continued. "I seriously can't understand why this is so hard for you guys to comprehend!"

She grabbed one of Zoro's arms and forced it around Sanji's waist, shooting him a warning look before he could take it away.

"This is literally a matter of life and death! So suck it up and deal with it!" She turned around and was about to walk away, before she turned back and added, "And if I have to come back here to tell you again, I promise you will regret it."

After that she left the two alone, leaving to go check on Luffy once again.

"Sea witch…" Zoro mumbled once Nami was no longer within earshot. He felt a hard jab in his side, but ignored any pain; he would not give the cook the satisfaction of reacting.

"Don't you talk about…" He began but was cut off when, out of nowhere, Zoro slammed his lips against his own. He completely froze his mind going absolutely blank, when he felt the swordsmen's lips begin to move. He was about to shove the other man away when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.

Zoro pulled back, giving Sanji one of the smuggest looks he had ever seen, before he turned toward the individual who had been trying to get their attention.

"Evening your majesty, princess," Zoro said, causing Sanji's heart to literally skip a beat. He turned around slowly, eyes widening when they landed on Lucy, who was standing next to her father, as well as a much smaller blonde girl. "Sorry about that, we didn't notice you approaching."

Sanji chuckled; trying to appear embarrassed, but was mentally plotting the Marimo's murder. He definitely saw them approaching, and knowing how he felt about Lucy, he had no idea why the swordsmen would've chosen then to make a spectacle out of their act.

"Obviously," the king said, sounding rather un-amused. "I just wanted to introduce you to the guest of honor of tonight's ball."

"This is Katie," Lucy said, "Can you say 'hi' Katie?"

The little girl hid behind her sister's leg shyly, before Zoro crouched down, so that he was eye level with the little girl. And then he did something that Sanji wasn't sure he had ever seen the swordsmen do, except for maybe with Chopper, he gave her a kind, warm smile.

"How old are you turning Katie?" He asked, keeping his voice soft, the little girl looked up at her sister unsure, but smiled when she received a nod of encouragement.

"Six," She said, holding up six fingers proudly.

"Wow, six. You're practically a Lady now," he said, causing the little girl to giggle.

"Dance with me?" She asked, now smiling from ear to ear.

Sanji couldn't help but laugh, the look on the Marimo's face was priceless, he obviously hadn't been expecting that. He looked up at him for help, but Sanji just smirked, "I bet he would love to. Wouldn't you sweetie?"

"I'm sure the king doesn't…" Zoro began, but was quickly cut off.

"I'm fine with it," the king interrupted, narrowing his eyes, daring the younger man to refuse her. As much as he might not necessarily like the idea, if his daughter wanted to dance with the green-haired man, than he would make sure it happened.

"Alright," Zoro said, standing back up, and offering the small girl his hand. She took it happily, and Zoro shot the blonde one last glare before turning around and leading the fair-haired girl onto the dance floor.

"That is so cute," Lucy cooed, seeing her sister step on top of the green-haired man's shoes, as the two began swaying back and forth to the music.

"I don't…" The king began, but trailed off when something across the room caught his eye. "What the hell is he doing!?" He barked, taking off across the room, Lucy and Sanji both looking up to see Luffy carrying away a giant gold statue.

Sanji rolled his eyes, wondering why Nami would've allowed him to do that…when he realized…Nami…gold…she was probably hoping for him to actually get away with it.

"Your crew is certainly full of some interesting characters," she giggled, causing Sanji's heart to flutter, as his attention snapped back to the blonde, who he was now standing alone with.

She looked absolutely incredible, wearing a baby blue dress, with a sash that was a darker blue, one that matched her eyes. Her hair was curled and done up, all except for two small pieces that were left loose, framing her face perfectly.

"You don't know the half of it," he chuckled, before a somewhat awkward silence fell between them. They both continued to watch the dance floor, seeing Zoro spin the little girl around.

Katie was laughing, and Zoro was smiling, the sight of which caused an involuntary smile to appear on Sanji's face as well. It really was kind of a cute sight, despite the Marimo having absolutely no rhythm.

"You really care about him don't you?" Lucy asked, causing him to tear his attention away from the dance floor. He looked at her confused for a second, before her words sunk in.

"Me? Care about him? Absolutely not!" He whispered, feeling his face begin to heat up. "You know it's just an act…"

"I know," She smiled, finding his embarrassment adorable, "I just meant as a friend. He is your friend, isn't he?"

"I don't…I mean…" Sanji trailed off, unsure how to answer that question. Was the Marimo his friend? They were nakama of course, crewmates, and also rivals…but were they really friends? Could he see himself hanging out with the green-haired man if they hadn't been forced together by fate? He looked back up and saw Zoro being led off the dance floor by the little girl, and watched as he poured Katie a cup of juice.

Despite his flaws…his many, many, many flaws…he really was a good guy, deep down. No matter how much he might usually piss him off, not even he could deny that. "Yeah, he is my friend."

"Well I think he is sweet, treating Katie like that," Lucy smiled, casually slipping her arm around Sanji's, "And watching them dance made me a little jealous."

Sanji felt a spark shoot through him at the contact, and it took a moment for his brain to catch up and comprehend the situation.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked, blushing when she nodded, biting her lip teasingly.

"Lead the way," she said, and he quickly obeyed.

On the other side of the room, the gold statue was now back in place, and Luffy had his arm's crossed in a pout.

"Why can't I have it? You have like a hundred of them!" Luffy said, feigning innocence in a way that made Nami proud.

"You know you can't take things that don't belong to you," Nami said sternly, receiving a confused look from her captain.

"But you were the one that told me to…" His words were cut off when Nami slapped a hand over his mouth.

"I was the one that told you to never steal things from people," she chuckled, turning towards the king, "I apologize about that your majesty. At his age I thought he would know better. I swear sometimes he acts more like he is 5 instead of 15."

"15? What are you talking ab…" Despite being made out of rubber, the elbow he received in his side hurt, "Right, I'm 15. And as a growing teenage boy I need meat!"

"You just ate," Nami sighed, but knew her words fell on deaf ears, and watched as the raven-haired teen took off toward the newly restocked snack table. "I apologize again your highness," she said, bowing, "but please excuse me." She wasted no time before taking off after Luffy, not trusting him to be unsupervised, especially not when it involved food.

Zoro stood alone in front of the bar, Katie having abandoned him when she spotted something shiny…or something like that, he hadn't really been paying attention. He was too distracted by the sight of the cook making a spectacle out of himself on the dance floor. He had to admit, the cook could really dance, not that that was really surprising. Dancing was something that could please a woman; therefore of course the cook could dance.

He watched as the idiot pulled the blonde woman closer, and felt his stomach clench uncomfortably. The feeling was strange, and he smelt the bottle of ale in his hand, to make sure it wasn't rank or something. The beer smelt fine, so where the hell had that feeling come from?

He looked back up and saw the woman lean forward and whisper something into the cook's ear, causing the blonde idiot to blush. The uncomfortable feeling returned and he narrowed his eyes at the sight. The shit cook was being too damned obvious! He was going to get them caught! That must be what that weird nagging feeling was…he was worried that the Sanji was going to blow their cover. He had to stop this before the king got a good look at what was going on. With that decided, he shot back the rest of his drink before stalking toward the dance floor, missing the smirk on the raven-haired woman's face, who he hadn't even realized had been standing next to him.

"What are you smirking about?" Franky asked, approaching his crewmate.

"Oh nothing," Robin said, still smirking as she watched the swordsmen interrupt the blonde couple's dance. She turned away and gave the cyborg beside her a look up and down, before adding, "I'm impressed."

"Why, because I'm so manly and SUUUUUUPER!" Franky shouted, earning them more than a few stares as he struck his signature pose.

"No, because you still have your pants on…" Robin said, chuckling before walking away. She saw the navigator struggling to restrain their captain, and figured she better offer a hand…or ten.

Meanwhile on the dance floor, Sanji was absolutely fuming as he watched Lucy walk away, and was now stuck on the dance floor with the green-haired idiot.

"What the hell was that about!?" Sanji hissed, pulling away as Zoro tried to wrap his arms around his waist.

"Because you were being too obvious! You might as well have been wearing a sign that said 'I'm straight and want to bone the kings daughter'!" He snapped, forcing his arms around the blonde's waist, pulling the other man closer to him.

"I was not! It was just a friendly dance! And what the hell are you doing?" Sanji snapped back, feeling his face begin to heat up when he realized just how close Zoro had pulled him. He could literally feel every single muscle in the Marimo's chest, down to his abdomen. The contact caused his stomach to give an involuntary flip, and he had to shake the feeling away. _That was weird…_ he thought, but chalked it up as him still being excited about having danced with Lucy, and what she had whispered to him shortly before the idiot had interrupted them.

He could still feel her sweet breath on his ear as she had told him to meet her in the west corridor after the dinner had ended. He shivered at the memory; his heart rate picking up as he thought about what she could want to talk to him about…assuming there was going to be talking involved at all.

"You cold or something shit cook?" Zoro asked, snapping Sanji back out of his thoughts.

"What…no."

"Then stop shaking," Zoro mumbled, swaying back and forth lazily to the music, relaxing a little when he felt the blonde finally wrap his arms around him as well. He had felt like an idiot standing there with his arms wrapped around a frozen Sanji…not that he felt like much less of an idiot now.

He had no idea why he had initiated a dance with the blonde. Originally he just intended to stop the cook and the princess's dance, he couldn't figure out what possessed him to try and take it a step further. Because despite his foot work abilities when it came to swordsmanship, apparently he had two left feet when it came to dancing.

"You're a shit dancer," Sanji sighed, relaxing a little as well. It was still such a weird feeling to be this close to the Marimo at all, let alone to be wrapped in his arms, and he didn't think it was a sensation he would ever be able to get use to.

"And you're a shit cook…"

"No I'm not…"

Neither man had the energy to have a proper argument in that moment, and just continued to sway back and forth to the music, blocking out the world from around them.

"He really does look a lot like him…I can understand now why you've taken such a liking to him," A brunette woman whispered to the blonde standing beside her, as they both stared at the two men swaying together on the dance floor.

"I know…and I feel horribly for leading him on like I have been. It's just, whenever I see Sanji, I can't help but think of him and then I completely lose myself…I'm a horrible person."

"No your not." The brunette reassured her. "Your just in a horrible situation, we all are. I can definitely understand you not thinking clearly, especially when you see someone who looks so much like him."

"Thanks Grace, I knew you would understand…doesn't make me feel much better about it though." Lucy sighed, taking another look a Sanji, the sight of which caused her heart to clench.

"Are you still prepared to go through with our plan tonight?" Grace asked, looking over to her sister, who seemed to be lost in thought once more. "We can postpone things if you need more time…"

"No…" Lucy said, finally able to tear her eyes away from Sanji, "We've been preparing too long for this for me to ruin it simply because I met some guy that reminded me of Peter. Besides, if all goes according to plan, I will get to see the real thing soon enough."

"Good," Grace smiled, "Then we will follow through with our plan tonight like we discussed. Just make sure you keep a low profile the rest of the night with father…the last thing we need is for something to happen, and for him to start keeping an extra close eye on us or something."

"Understood," Lucy nodded, sighing deeply. The conversation she would have to have with Sanji after dinner was going to be hard, but not as hard as staying silent and allowing things to continue the way they had been.

The two sisters exchanged one last look, before separating to go mingle with some of the guests, leaving the raven-haired woman standing alone. Who, for the second time that evening, had went unnoticed.

"Now that is very interesting," she smirked, sipping her cocktail, before turning back toward the dance floor, seeing her two crewmates still slowly swaying back and forth with each other, neither seeming to have noticed that the music had stopped, and that dinner had just been announced. "Very interesting…"

…

 **A/N: So there you have it. I know it probably wasn't worth the wait, but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. It was hard to write this chapter, as I mentioned in the other author's note, there wasn't much inspiration here and I had to all but force this out. I hope it still came across okay though. I have a general direction in mind where I want to take the story, so hopefully I can get there with out the quality of writing going down too much. If any of you have any sort of suggestions or ideas, I would love to hear them. Who knows, any plot bunnies you might give me might be the spark I need to regain that lost inspiration. But for now, thank you for reading, sorry for the wait, and let me know what you thought!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I appreciate them all :D I finished this earlier and figured I might as well not keep you waiting for it. Consider it my Happy New Years gift! It is a little shorter than my usual chapters though, so I apologize for that. The next chapter will be longer, and I will try and not keep you waiting for it…although the next few days will be pretty busy for me, so it may be a little bit of a wait. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and would love to hear what you think.**

…

Once everyone was finally seated, a task that seemed to be harder at tonight's ball compared to most, dinner officially got under way.

Nothing could be heard above the sounds of slurps, the clanging of dishes, and of course the sounds Luffy made as he ravaged anything within his arms reach, which given his stretching capabilities, was a lot.

Down at one end of the table, an unknown tension could be felt hovering around a particular group of individuals. Nobody could quite put their finger on why the tension was there, but it was there nonetheless, and nobody could feel it more than Sanji, who was currently sitting in between both Zoro and Lucy, and across from Robin, who hadn't stopped smirking at him since he had sat down.

He wasn't sure what was going on, or even how he was feeling. Everything was so confusing, and it seemed things only kept getting foggier and foggier inside his head.

What was it that he was really feeling for Lucy? Was it simply lust? Was it something more? And why was he feeling like this even though he knew in just over a weeks time that he wasn't ever going to see her again…and what the hell was going on with Zoro! He was his usual douche bag self one minute, and then he was kind, understanding, dancing with little girls, and generally being sweet the next minute. The whole situation, ever since they had landed on this island, had just been getting stranger and stranger, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle this.

He groaned as he felt a headache coming on, and quickly froze when he felt a hand placed on both of his shoulders. One was a gentle, delicate touch; the other was a hard slap.

"You okay?" He heard two very different voices ask on either side of him, only to cause his head to spin that much more.

"I'm fine!" He choked out, quickly getting to his feet, causing the chair to scrap loudly against the floor, resulting in every eye in the room to land on him. "I apologize for the disturbance, please excuse me."

He bowed in the direction of the king, and before he could receive a reply, he took off, leaving a few very confused individuals in his wake.

"I wonder if he's okay, he looked a little pale." Lucy said quietly, so only Zoro could hear her.

"He's fine," Zoro muttered, but watched as Sanji left the ballroom, disappearing behind the door. He felt a little disappointed as he watched him vanish into the hallway, but had no idea where that feeling was coming from. If anything, he should be relieved, he had been spending way too much time with the cook lately and things were starting to get weird…so he should be relieved that he was getting a little breather…yet a part of him was urging him to go after the blonde, but he shook the feeling off. He threw back another glass of sake, hoping he could numb any additional strange feelings, when he couldn't help but notice as Lucy excused herself, and also disappeared behind the door and into the same hallway Sanji had.

His eyes narrowed involuntarily at the sight, an action that didn't go unnoticed by others at the table.

"Everything okay Swordsman-san?" Robin asked, far too innocently for his liking. That woman was up to something…he didn't know what it was, but he could only assume it was nothing good.

"I'm fine..." He muttered, signaling down the waiter who was carrying the sake, ignoring any additional looks from the raven-haired woman.

He was so wrapped up in trying to drink as much as humanly possible that he didn't notice as another one of the king's daughters also excused herself, followed a few minutes later by a handful of the king's guards.

…

Sanji stepped out of the bathroom, leaning up against a nearby wall, and taking a few deep breaths. He had just splashed some cold water on his face, which seemed to help a bit, but he couldn't quite shake the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was off.

He patted his jacket down, desperate for a cigarette, when he remembered Nami confiscating them earlier that night before arriving at the castle. Apparently him stinking up the castle with his 'cancerous smoke' wasn't an option…and as much as he loved his precious Nami-swan, he couldn't help but feel mildly irritated in that moment.

"There you are, I was looking for you." A soft voice spoke, causing his eyes to snap open.

He turned his head toward the blonde, who was standing somewhat shyly a few feet away. The concerned look she was giving him caused another explosion of butterflies to erupt in his stomach. She was so beautiful, a fact that never escaped him every time he saw her.

In fact, after meeting some of her sisters that evening, he couldn't help but think they were all rather beautiful. Even some of the younger ones, who were far too young for him to be interested in, he could just see that one day they would grow into beautiful women themselves. And given the fact that their father was short, fat, and more or less bald, he could only imagine what their mother must've looked like…she couldn't have been anything less than a Goddess.

"I was worried…are you alright?" She spoke again, after Sanji had remained silent. That seemed to snap him out of whatever thoughts he was in, and he finally looked up at her properly.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. I'm definitely flattered by your concern." He said, forcing a smile onto his face. As pleased as he was to see her, there was another feeling nagging at him, one that was preventing him from fully being able to enjoy her presence.

"Not a problem," she smiled in return, a few awkward moments passing between them before she continued. "Look Sanji, there is something that I really need to talk to you about…"

"What is it?" He asked, his breath catching in his throat, as his mind started whirling with possibilities. She looked nervous, the sight of which caused even more butterflies to erupt. She wasn't about to confess her feelings to him, was she? No, it couldn't have been…she was so sweet, and beautiful. Not to mention a princess! But seeing her before him, looking as nervous as she did, he couldn't help his mind from going there, and in that moment he had no idea what he was going to do if she did end up confessing, all he could do was hold his breath and wait for what came next.

"Meeting you earlier this week, brought up a lot of feelings for me…feelings I thought were long forgotten. And even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn't seem to help myself, and allowed myself to get caught up in them…" She began, avoiding his eyes as she continued. "But because of you, and the feelings you stirred up in me, I finally got the courage to do something, something I have been too afraid to do for the last 7 years. I hope you can understand, and won't hold it against me."

"Umm…I'm glad I could cause such feelings," he began, not able to keep the confusion out of his voice.

"Thank you for understanding!" She smiled, throwing her arms around his neck, causing his face to heat up as he felt the curves of her body pressed up against his own. It was such a different feeling then having the Marimo's hard, toned body against his earlier that night, and couldn't help as his mind began comparing the two.

Lucy's body being softer meant that feeling her against him was more comfortable, familiar. Although she was quite a bit shorter than he was, and he found himself having to hunch over slightly, which if the embrace continued too long, could get a little uncomfortable. Whereas the Marimo was basically the same height as him, so there was no crouching or leaning involved, which meant that he could comfortably stay in an embrace with him for hours…wait, what…his mind did not just think that.

He quickly shook any additional thoughts away, and came back to the reality at hand, and the beautiful woman currently in his arms.

"Not a problem…" He said, not even sure what he was saying, having no clue what was going on, when she pulled back and placed a gentle kiss against his lips.

He was caught off guard by that action, and couldn't help but tense up in that moment. He was so confused. He was confused by her, what he was feeling towards her, what she could've been feeling about him, what she was trying to tell him before the kiss, and why this kiss felt different…the spark he remembered from the last one he shared with her wasn't there this time…but that being said, he was still a hot-blooded 19 year old male, so he eventually relaxed into the kiss, allowing his lips to begin moving against hers.

The kiss began picking up slightly, enough so that neither of them seemed to hear the footsteps coming toward them. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder, roughly pulling him away from Lucy that he seemed to snap back to reality, and notice the situation they were currently in.

Several guards surrounded the two of them, and before he could open his mouth and come up with any sort of excuse, he felt as a fist slammed into his gut. The movement was so quick that he couldn't even brace himself, and couldn't help but begin coughing, as it felt like all the air left his lungs.

"Get the king, now!" One of the guards barked to another, and a feeling of dread began to rise up inside of him. What the hell was he going to do now?

It wasn't like they could really lie about what had happened…maybe if it was only one or two guards, they could convince them to keep quiet, or even convince the king that they were lying…but there were at least 10-12 guards surrounding them in that moment, there was no way to get around this. They were going to tell the king, and he could only imagine what the king was going to do once he found out.

Sure he could probably take all these guards down and make a run for it, but then where would that leave the rest of his crew? He couldn't exactly abandon them, and there was no way he could gather them all up and escape…there were far too many guards, they would never be able to leave there, at least not without things getting really messy, and innocent bystanders possibly getting hurt.

He desperately tried to think up a plan, and chanced a look over at Lucy, who seemed to be panicking outwardly as much as he was inwardly. She was paler than usual, and her forehead appeared to be glistening in sweat. That left him even more confused…what did she have to be afraid of? Other than maybe being watched a little more closely after this, he couldn't imagine that she would have to suffer any real consequences.

"Lucy…" Came a calm voice from somewhere beside them. Those still remaining in the hall turned toward the sound of the voice, some of the guards stiffening to attention upon seeing who it was.

"Princess Grace," one of the guards saluted, "we just apprehended this man for breaking the law. He was caught harassing Princess Lucy, but fear not, your father should be here any minute."

"I see," The brunette woman spoke, shooting her sister a pointed look, silently communicating her disappointment. But as much as she would like to give her sister a lecture in that moment, she knew there wasn't time. They couldn't go through with their exact plan now, but hope wasn't lost yet. "I appreciate your work gentlemen, and I trust that you will be able to explain the situation to my father. In the meantime, I will escort my sister back to her room, and stay with her until this whole ordeal is sorted out."

"But milady…" One of the guards began but was quickly cut off.

"I trust that isn't a problem, is it?" Grace asked, her tone very firm, and full of authority. "My sister has been through a lot tonight, and I don't wish for her to be present for what is to come next."

"Of course, my apologies milady," the same guard spoke, stepping aside to allow Lucy to walk past. Grace grabbed her arm and began to pull her away, but was stopped when her sister didn't budge.

Grace turned around to see a pained, guilty look painted on her sister's face, as she stared back at the blonde man, who was currently doubled over after having been punched in the gut again. She felt a pang of sympathy for the man, and knew despite the fact that he was a pirate that he likely didn't deserve this, but there was nothing they could do now.

"We have to go Lucy," Grace whispered, giving her sister's arm another tug. "I know this isn't easy, but if we don't go now, we might not get another opportunity…at least not one anytime soon. Try to remember what's waiting for us…"

Lucy silently nodded, tears stinging her eyes as Sanji looked up at her, giving her such a confused, hurt look. It caused her stomach to churn unpleasantly, and caused a wave of nausea to wash over her. For the briefest moment she thought about forgetting the plan and staying here with Sanji, so she could at least attempt to explain things to her father…but then she remembered her sister's words, and tried to remind herself what was waiting for her if their plan succeeded.

She mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' as a solitary tear streaked down her face, before she turned away from Sanji and the guards and swiftly followed her sister down the hall.

Sanji watched the two women disappear, an increasing feeling of dread coming over him. He knew he screwed things up, but he had held on to a small bit of hope that between Lucy and Nami that they would some how be able to lie their way out of this with the king. But as Lucy disappeared around the corner, that last bit of hope faded, and he knew with out her to try and explain things that he was doomed…with this many guards as witness, not even Nami was going to be able to help him lie his way out of this one.

Before he could think anymore about his situation and what he should do, several sets of footsteps could be heard coming towards them. He was surprised to not only see the king and a few more guards, but also the rest of his nakama, including Zoro, who was currently handcuffed, and being forced along by a few guards. This briefly confused him, why the hell was the Marimo handcuffed? When a sudden flash of realization hit him.

He had been so wrapped up in everything that was happening to him, and his confused feelings about Lucy, that he hadn't even thought of the fact that if he was exposed as straight, that that more or less blew Zoro's cover as well. Because of him, not only was his life on the line, but so was one of his nakama's…a feeling of guilt overwhelmed him, and he felt like he needed to say something, anything, to try and explain things to Zoro, but another voice spoke before he could.

"Take the two of them to the dungeon!" The king roared, "Both of them will be executed tomorrow at sunrise!"

He could hear the sounds Nami, and a few others from his crew begin to shout in protest, as he and Zoro were shoved down the hall, several guards holding swords and guns on them.

He chanced a look up at the swordsmen, expecting to see a look of annoyance, or anger painted on his face, but saw something completely different instead. Zoro was looking back at him with a look of hurt reflected in his eyes, the sight of which caused an ache in his chest. And in that moment, he wished he could turn back time and stop himself from kissing Lucy. As much as he might have liked her, nothing was worth seeing his nakama in this kind of pain, and he would do anything if he could make that hurt look disappear.

…

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! And Happy New Year to you all! I will see you in 2016 with the next update. In the meantime let me know what you think! I love hearing your thoughts. XD**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here is the next chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous one, I appreciate them all. And just to warn you, I do start class back up tomorrow, so the next update might not be fore a little bit…at least not until I get a little settled into my new routine. Anyway, that being said, I hope you enjoy and would love to hear what you think!**

…

The silence that hung in the air was almost suffocating. Neither man having spoken a word since they had been thrown into the small, dank, prison cell they were currently being held in.

Three out of the four walls were made out of a solid stone, one that Sanji wasn't even sure he could break with a kick, not that he could try if he wanted to. Several guards stood outside the cell, keeping an annoyingly close eye on them.

The bars themselves also appeared to be unbreakable, likely made out of sea prism stone, just incase any potential prisoners had devil fruit powers.

The cell itself was small, no more than 15 feet by 15 feet, and everything was made our of a cold, hard, wet, stone. There was a small toilet on one side of the cell, and a rather uncomfortable looking cot on the other.

All in all the room had a rather depressing air to it, not that he was expecting anything different from what was more or less a dungeon. But despite where he was, and the worry he was currently feeling, what concerned him the most was the Marimo, and the fact that he had yet to say a word.

After seeing the hurt look on his face when they had been dragged off, he had wanted to say something, or do something, anything, to take that pain away. But after being thrown in the cell, that look of hurt had turned to a more familiar one of annoyance, causing him to lose his nerve.

So now they sat there, nearly an hour later, neither having uttered a word, and Sanji was about to go completely insane. He still couldn't believe what had happened, and how Lucy had just left like she had. If she had stayed and tried to explain things to the king, then maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have ended up in the cell, twiddling their thumbs, and waiting to be executed.

He still didn't understand what she had been trying to tell him earlier, but he assumed whatever it was had something to do with her taking off with her sister before their father could arrive. He just wished he could understand. Understand what could be so important that he and one of his nakama's lives were now at risk. Not that he was too, too worried about it. He still remained hopeful that the rest of their crew would figure something out, or in the very least attempt to physically break them out at some point.

"Stop pacing back and forth cook. You're giving me a headache." Zoro mumbled, breaking the silence that hung heavy in the air. Sanji turned around to find Zoro lounging back on the cot, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. The sight slightly annoyed him, seeing the Marimo so relaxed. He should at least be a little bit worried! Or at least pissed off! He should be angry with him for getting them caught!

"What the hell is wrong with you moss-head?!" Sanji snapped, not able to suppress his irritation.

"You need to be more specific…" Zoro mumbled, yawning. He closed his eyes, hoping to drift off, when the bed was suddenly flipped, and he found himself landing harshly on the cold, wet floor. "What the hell cook?!"

"Why are you acting so calm?!"

"Because I know our crew as well as you do! And I know they will find some way to get us out of this. So stop freaking out baka…"

Sanji knew he was right, but his current irritation wasn't really because he was worried about what was going to happen to them, he was irritated that the Marimo wasn't more irritated with him. It might not have been the best logic, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

"Hit me!" Sanji said suddenly, causing Zoro to look at him like he was completely insane.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I said hit me asshole! Come on!" Sanji shouted, getting right up in the Marimo's face. "I deserve it! So hurry up and hit me!"

"Back off love cook," Zoro half chuckled, pissing Sanji off even more.

Sanji took a swing at Zoro, who easily dodged it. There wasn't a lot of space in the small room, so Sanji couldn't use his kicks as effectively, and seeing as Nami had confiscated Zoro's swords before they left for the castle, neither of them could fight as effectively as they normally would've, but Zoro's upper body strength trumped Sanji's, so he had the upper hand.

He dodged another swing thrown his way, and was able to catch the blonde's wrist. He used Sanji's surprise at being caught to grab his other arm, lifting both arms above his head, and pinning him up against the nearest wall.

"Calm down cook!" Zoro said calmly, holding the blonde in place as he struggled to free himself from the hold. It took nearly ten minutes for Sanji to finally stop resisting, the irritation he felt slowly fading away. "Are you going to try and start something again if I let you go?"

"I won't…" Sanji sighed, all his fight from earlier now completely gone. His face began to heat up when he thought of his outburst from earlier, embarrassed about acting so childishly.

Everything that had happened was starting to get to him, and he had no idea how he was feeling, and apparently wasn't in full control of his emotions.

Zoro saw the blush tinting the blonde's face, and mistaking it for something else, instantly let the other man go, taking a step back. His own face began to heat up, his mind going completely blank as he tried to come up with something slightly intelligent to say.

Sanji became even more embarrassed when he realized what the Marimo must've been thinking, but before he could come up with anything to say, a familiar, smooth, deep voice interrupted them, that caused both men to slightly jump at the sudden sound.

"Sanji? Zoro?" The voice spoke, both men looked around, and finally spotted the random mouth and ears that appeared on one of the walls. A set of eyes appeared as well, their piercing blue gaze landing on them immediately. "Oh good, I finally found your cell. You have no idea how many prisoners I scared before finding you. They were rather jumpy…"

"Can you blame them?" Zoro snorted, receiving a nod of agreement from Sanji. Even after being in a crew with the woman for as long as they had, they still weren't use to the random appearance of limbs, or other random body parts that would appear out of nowhere on occasion.

"I have no idea what you mean…" The smooth voice purred, "Anyway, we were forbidden from coming to see you, and despite what the king told us, I doubt he was going to give you the message like he had promised. But there has been a development, and we needed to let you guys know."

"What? What's going on?" Sanji asked, curious about what his crew had done to try and get them out. He had been expecting them to try a full force break out by now, thinking that any kind of discussion would've been all but impossible when it came to the king, he definitely didn't seem like the type of a man that could be reasoned with.

"Thanks to our navigator, we have gained a week to try and come up with a solution."

"What do you mean a week?" Zoro asked, not liking where this was going.

"Well, it happened like this…"

 _One hour earlier_

"You can't just executed them for no reason!" Nami snapped, her calm façade that she had maintained with the king up until that moment now completely gone.

"No reason? They broke my laws! I am perfectly justified to hand out the punishment fitting to that!"

"Your laws are insane!"

"You will bite your tongue, or you can join your friends in the dungeon! In fact, I should throw the rest of you in the dungeon as well anyway! I'm sure you were all fully aware of the lie, and therefore you are co-conspirators. Not to mention I have no reason to believe any of the other excuses you gave me earlier this week, so a few more of you could very well be in violation of the law anyway!" The king shouted, his face becoming red in his anger. "But I am a reasonable man…and since I have no proof of this, I will allow the rest of you to go free. But I promise you, if you do anything to try and break my prisoners out, I will not hesitate to execute each and everyone of you."

"Screw that! We are getting our nakama, and we are getting them now!" Luffy roared, receiving a cheer in agreement from several of the other crewmembers.

"Robin," Nami hissed, the raven-haired woman acting immediately. She raised her arms, producing several arms to cover the mouths of all their crewmates, her and Nami aside. She also produced several extra to hold Luffy down, who had attempted to charge down the hallway.

"I apologize for our outburst, _your highness,"_ She forced the words out through clenched teeth, trying to regain her calm façade. "I hope you can understand that we are simply upset at the idea of losing two of our dear friends."

"I suppose I can understand that reaction, but an apology isn't going to change the situation."

"I understand, but please hear me out," Nami pleaded, giving the king her best pout, mentally smirking as she could see the king's resolve begin to weaken.

"Fine…as I said, I am a reasonable man, so I will give you 5 minutes to attempt to explain yourself. But I warn you, I am not a fool, I will not fall for any lies again."

"The truth is…" Nami started, taking a few deep breaths, attempting to collect her thoughts. "The truth is, they truly do love each other."

"I said I would not fall for anymore lies! What are you trying to play at here?! Are you implying I'm some sort of idiot?!"

"Of course not! I am simply trying to explain the truth to you!" Nami replied, trying to sound as genuine as possible. Which if she had to say so herself, she was doing a rather good job at. She would have to challenge Usopp for his position as the ships best liar. "The truth is they really do love each other, that was not a lie! It might be a little more complicated then I mentioned before, but it's still true!"

"I need more details then that if you actually expect me to believe this."

"Well, you see…their relationship is rather new, and it took them quite a while to accept their feelings for each other. Especially for Sanji, who has always considered himself a ladies man up until this point. So for him, arriving on an island full of beautiful women was rather confusing…but that doesn't change how he feels about Zoro, I know that much for sure. And I know he would never do anything to hurt him, so if Sanji was caught kissing your daughter Lucy, than I can only assume it was Lucy who initiated the kiss."

"Lies!" The king roared. "My daughter would never throw herself around like that!"

"But your highness…wasn't it proven the first time they were supposedly caught together that it was Lucy that was touching Sanji and not the other way around?"

"Yes…" The king replied hesitantly after a few moments.

"I know it's hard to think that your daughter would do something like that. But she's what, 24? 25? A woman of that age has certain needs no matter who she is."

The king stayed silent, the thought obviously disturbing him.

"Please at least talk to her. See what she has to say about it."

"Go retrieve Princess Lucy for me, immediately!" The king demanded, two of his guards instantly taking off down the hallway. It didn't take them more than a minute or two to return, both of them looking panicked.

"My Lord! The Princess wasn't in her room. We checked Princess Grace's room as well, because it was Lady Grace who had escorted Lady Lucy away before, but she wasn't there either. And my Lord…"

"What is it?"

"Much of their stuff appeared to be missing." The guard answered hesitantly, taking a few steps back upon seeing the outraged look on the king's face.

"Search every inch of the castle! And if you can't find them here, I want every available guard out searching the entire island! Go now!" The king snapped, every guard taking off, except for four of them that never left the king's side. "Did you people do something to them?"

"Of course not! What reason would we have to do anything to them!?" Nami answered.

"To try and cover that blonde man's crime!"

"But I was the one that suggested you ask her! She was the only one that could potentially prove Sanji's innocence! Why would we do anything to jeopardize that!?"

"I don't know what your motives are! But I wouldn't be surprised if you resorted to something under handed like that. Even though I haven't brought it up until now, I'm not a fool, I know you lot are a bunch of low brow pirates!"

"Please…" Nami said, starting to get a little flustered. She had assumed that that Lucy woman would be able to back up her story, and was counting on her to get their crew out of this. She had to come up with something, and she had to come up with something quick, otherwise things would get messy.

She knew if she couldn't explain their way out of this, then they would have no choice but to try and get them out by force. They were nakama after all, and there was no way any of them would be willing to leave nakama behind, so if necessary, they would have to attack…and no matter how strong some of them were, the king's guards outnumbered them easily 100 to 1…not only that, but two of their strongest fighters, Zoro and Sanji, were currently locked up. So all that considered, she wasn't even sure they could win. They would certainly take down many of the guards and put up one hell of a fight, but she wasn't confident enough that they would win to be willing to bet everything on it.

"Please at least give us a chance. Give us a chance to prove this."

"How do you expect to do that?"

"We will find your daughters and bring them back here. That way you can hear the whole story from Lucy's own mouth."

The king took a moment, and thought this over, giving the redheaded woman before him a skeptical look. He doubted her words, he would have to be a fool to blindly believe her, but after another of his guards returned and informed him that his daughters couldn't be found anywhere on castle grounds, he began to worry. Sure Lucy on occasion snuck out of the castle, but Grace had never, ever disobeyed him like that, so for her to suddenly disappear with Lucy like she had was definitely cause for concern. So even though he doubted the woman's story very much, if they could find his daughters and bring them home, maybe it was worth giving them a chance…

"Fine," the king said, after what felt like an eternity, "I will give you one week. A trial will be held in 7 days time, and the trial will be held whether you can find them or not. And after that trial I will make my final decision."

"Thank you your majesty!" Nami said, a sense of relief washing over her.

"They will be held in the dungeon until then. And none of you will be allowed to see them, because I don't trust that you wouldn't try and slip them something for them to use to break out. Can you accept these terms?"

"Yes, we can accept that. Will you inform them of this development though? So they aren't left sitting in that cell for a week wondering what is going on."

"Of course…" The king said, but made no move to order any of his guards away. "Please escort the seven of them off castle grounds. Seeing as the Princesses aren't here, they no longer have any reason to be here either."

The guards approached them, motioning for them to follow. Nami shot Robin another look, and just like before, she seemed to be able to read the navigator's thoughts exactly. She released the limbs that had still been in place restraining their captain, and began sending body parts to various places to the lower level of the castle, searching for the dungeon, so she could personally relay the message.

 _Back to present time…_

"I see…" Zoro sighed, disappointed. He, like Sanji, had assumed that the crew was going to be choosing the physical approach, and that they would be out of there in a matter of hours.

"I know staying in here a week won't be easy…but this truly is our best chance at getting everybody out of here in one piece. We have no idea what the guards actual numbers are, and without you two by our sides, we were worried about what could potentially happen to some of us. Besides, our initial problem of the log pose still needing just over a week to set still exists. So even if we could get everyone out of here and back to the Sunny, we could end up getting lost a possibly dying at sea."

"We understand…" Sanji said after a moment. As disappointed as he was about having to spend a week in that small, dark, cell, he wanted his nakama to do whatever was best for them. He still felt like the whole situation was completely his fault after all, and he didn't want anybody else getting caught or hurt because of him. It was bad enough that the Marimo had to suffer like him, he wouldn't be able to live himself if any of his other friends ended up getting hurt. And not only that, but he couldn't deny that he was curious to find out where Lucy actually disappeared to, and why she would leave him and Zoro to have to deal with this like she had. "Please hurry though."

"Of course cook-san, don't worry. We will find her, no matter what, and we will be there for the trial. We will all walk away from this, I promise."

"Thank you Robin-chan, we have complete faith in you guys." Sanji nodded, trying to muster up a genuine smile to give the woman before her eyes disappeared, but he found it harder than he thought.

After the body parts disappeared, Sanji turned toward Zoro, desperately trying to come up with something to say.

"Don't worry about it cook," Zoro said, as if reading the blonde's mind, "I've been in worse places before. A week is nothing…"

"But Zoro…"

"Seriously, don't worry about it. Besides, at least we have some company, right? Although, if I had to choose someone to be locked up with for a week, you wouldn't have been on the top of my list." He joked, sighing when he received no response from the blonde. "This week will go by even slower if you spend the entire time feeling sorry for yourself."

"I'm not feeling sorry for myself! I'm feeling bad that I put you in this situation..."

"You didn't put me in this situation shit cook…technically Nami put both of us in this situation with her lie…although that being said, she only had to tell that lie because of you in the first place, so I guess you technically did put us in this situation…" He rolled his eyes when he saw the blonde flinch at his words. "I was just joking baka cook."

When Zoro again received no reply again, he did the only thing he could think of to snap the idiot out of his mood. He pulled the unsuspecting man towards him, and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"What are you doing…" Sanji muttered, but made no move to pull away.

"Well, we are still being watched aren't we? And you heard Robin…they are still trying to convince the king of our undying love, are they not?"

"Any excuse to get close to me, huh Marimo?"

"Only in your dreams curly brow…"

"Moss-head…"

"Pervert cook…"

The two exchanged a few more casual insults, Sanji's arms subconsciously circling around Zoro's waist as well, the two continuing to hold each other close.

After they ran out of insults, a few moments of silence fell between them, before Sanji finally broke it.

"Thank you Zoro."

"For what?"

"For understanding, and not reacting like…well like I probably would've if the roles were reversed."

Zoro just smirked, rubbing circle's on the cook's back. "Don't mention it cook…don't mention it."

…

"Where are we even going to start looking?" Usopp asked, once the rest of the crew finally returned to the Sunny.

"I don't know," Nami sighed, "I didn't really think that far in advance."

"I have an idea," Robin spoke, her voice the same calm tone as ever. "I overheard something rather interesting at the ball earlier, and I think I might have a pretty good idea where they might be."

The rest of the crew seemed to brighten up upon hearing this. They should've known that the raven-haired woman would know something more than the rest of them.

"Well then, let's get going! Let's save our nakama!" Luffy shouted, receiving nods and cheers from the rest of the crew. Because one way or another, all nine of them were going to leave that island together, that they were sure of.


	9. Chapter 9

**7 Days Until the Trial**

"Is that it?" Luffy asked, pointing at the small landmass appearing on the horizon. Nami squinted her eyes and nodded.

"I think so. I mean, it's too small of an island for the log pose to point to it, but according to some of the women on the main island, there is only one other island that is anywhere close to the main one, approximately 5 miles off shore…so if that's true, then this has to be it."

"Let's go then!" Luffy shouted, preparing himself to stretch towards the shore, only to be stopped when a fist smashed into the back of his head.

"IDIOT!" Nami shouted, and then sighed. "We can't just rush in blindly! We need to come up with an actual plan here! If what Robin said is true, we can't go in there and cause a scene, otherwise Lucy and her sister will catch wind of our presence and go into hiding or something!"

"Oh…" Luffy said, rubbing the growing bump on the back of his head. "Alright, so what should our plan be?"

"We need to split into two groups. One that will stay with the ship, and one that will be able infiltrate the island…discreetly." Nami said, narrowing her eyes at their captain.

"Why are you looking at me like that for!?"

"Well, in order to be discreet, I think Franky, Chopper, and Brooke should stay with the ship…they will stick out the most. So that leaves me, Robin, Usopp and you to go a shore, but you have to be able to keep a low profile."

"I can be discreet!" He decided, only to receive a skeptical look from his remaining 6 crewmates. "I can be discreet! I will be king of discreet! Just like I will be king of the pirates!"

"Try not to say too many things like that while we're there."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not discreet!" Nami snapped, feeling one of her eyes begin to twitch.

"Well shouting certainly isn't discreet…" The captain mumbled under his breath, crossing his arms in a pout.

"What was that?" Nami hissed.

"Nothing!"

"Anyway," Robin's smooth voice broke in, interrupting the argument that had begun between the navigator and captain. "We don't have any time to waste. Cook-san and swordsmen-san are counting on us."

"She's right," Nami said after a moment, the rest of the crew nodding in agreement.

None of them liked the situation they were currently in. It just felt wrong not to have two of their nakama by their side. But they had all agreed that this was the best course of action to take in order to save their friends. So the sooner they started looking, the better.

"And here's my plan when we get ashore…" Nami continued, the rest of the crew listening intently, including Luffy, who had never looked more serious.

…

"So…"

"So…" Zoro mimicked, causing Sanji to sigh.

It had barely been half a day and the two men were already driving each other, and themselves, absolutely insane.

"Where do you think the rest of the crew are?" Sanji asked, more thinking out loud than really expecting an answer, but the silence had been deafening and he would've done anything to break it.

"Don't know…"

"Do you think they will find them?" He tried again.

"Don't know…"

"Anything particular you want to talk about?" Sanji asked through clenched teeth, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"Nope…" Zoro shrugged.

"Christ Zoro! You could at least attempt to make this next week bearable!" Sanji snapped, but not so loudly that the guards standing by could hear.

Zoro rolled his eyes and sighed, "You've been yammering on trying to start pointless conversations for hours! Do you expect me to talk to you non-stop for the next seven days?" He received no reply, and couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit guilty. _Why should I feel guilty though…he is being his usual annoying self, in fact he is being more annoying than usual, and I'm simply telling him to shut up like I normally would. So why the hell do I feel bad about it?_ "Fine…I have no idea where they are. Yes I think they will find them. And as for something particular I want to talk about, how about swords?"

It was Sanji's turn to roll his eyes; the Marimo was obviously just trying to get him to shut up. But the eerie silence of the cell was unnerving him, and he hated being left alone with his own thoughts, they were far too complicated and confusing right now. So even though it wasn't likely a serious suggestion, he would take the bait anyway.

"Alright…which sword do you like to use the best? I know you have a special connection with the white one, Wado I think it is, but you don't usually use that one. Not unless you are doing the full three sword style, in which case, that is the one you always use with your mouth."

"Umm…" Zoro hummed, completely caught off guard by the cooks question. He had been joking when he said he wanted to talk about swords, so he certainly hadn't expected to hear those words come out of the other man's mouth. He hadn't realized that anybody really paid close enough attention to figure out his fighting habits like that.

"Yeah, that one is special. And I guess I use it in my mouth because I figure it is less likely to get damaged there…or something. I honestly hadn't thought about it before."

"Why is it so special?" Sanji asked curiously, realizing that he really didn't know much about the other man's past. Other than the fact that he used to be a pirate hunter, and came from the East Blue, he really didn't know anything about him.

"She used to belong to someone…someone important to me." Zoro answered after a few moments, not really sure what else to say. He never discussed his past before, at least not with anybody from the crew, not even with Luffy. He wasn't sure why he never talked about it really…he supposed it just never came up. Everyone just knew him as the pirate hunter, so maybe they figured that was all there really was to know about him, so nobody bothered to try and learn more.

"Who?" Sanji asked, finding himself genuinely curious. It never dawned on him until that moment to try and find out more about the other man. He was just Zoro…the annoying, boorish, first mate of their crew. He slept a lot, drank a lot, and was a half decent swordsmen…not that he would ever admit that to his face…but what else was there to really know about him?

For the briefest moment, he saw a pained look cross the other man's face, and instantly felt guilty. The fact that he was in possession of a sword that _use_ to belong to someone important to him, meant that it likely wasn't a happy story…A part of him wanted to tell him that it was okay, to forget he asked, but he stayed silent instead, and waited. Maybe it was wrong of him, but now that the desire to know more about the other man was in his head, he couldn't bring himself to try and halt the conversation.

"A friend. A rival I guess you could say…" He trailed off, deciding he didn't really want to get into it, when he looked up and saw the look in the other man's eyes. There was something about it…Sanji looked interested, invested in learning the truth, and for some reason he felt like he owed it to him, that it would be wrong of him to keep anything from the blonde.

He didn't know why he would feel like that, and normally he would tell the cook to piss off, and then try and get some sleep. But some unknown force was urging him to continue, to open up to the blonde, so he did, "Her name was Kuina. She was the daughter of the man that ran the dojo I trained at as a kid. She was a brilliant swordswoman, and had the same dream I had, to become the world's greatest. We fought a countless number of times…and I know that look, don't start lecturing me about how I shouldn't have fought a girl. If she were here right now, she would kick your ass for even thinking that. Besides, I lost to her every single time. She was a little older than me, and taller, and had been training for years longer. Not that I ever made excuses like that…she was simply better than me, and at the time, my greatest goal was just to finally beat her, I wasn't even thinking about becoming the world's greatest, I just wanted to prove I was better than her. One night, I challenged her to a fight with real swords. She accepted, and then of course kicked my ass…it was that night that she opened up to me about her fears and insecurities, about the fact that she was a woman, and therefore would grow up weaker and would never be able to achieve her dream of being the best. I got so angry at her that night…saying how dare she say something like that, especially when she just kicked my ass for what felt like the millionth time. I told her I was going to defeat her one-day, and it wasn't going to be because she was a girl and I simply grew up stronger, it was going to be because I improved my skills and was genuinely better than her. That was the night we promised each other that one of us was going to become the world's greatest swordsmen…and then the next day she died. She fell down some stairs and just…just died. As strong as she was, she just…"

"Zoro…" Sanji said softly, seeing how upset the other man was getting at the memory. As much as he wanted to learn the truth, he felt increasingly bad for bring it up.

"After that I asked her father for her sword, Wado. I told him that one day I would become the world's greatest, and that my name would be heard even in the heavens. Even though I was never able to achieve my goal of beating her, I will do anything to keep the promise we made that night." Zoro finally finished, looking up to see a sad look on the other man's face.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have asked," Sanji said, feeling a pang of sympathy for Zoro. He couldn't even imagine losing someone like that…especially when they were both so young.

"No, it's okay. If I refuse to talk about it, it would just feel like her memory was slipping further and further away." Zoro replied after a few minutes, having no idea why he had opened up as much as he had. The cook probably would've been satisfied with 'a friend I use to know named Kuina'…there was no reason for him to get into so many details. Yet, he felt a strange sense of relief knowing that there were no longer any real secrets between the two of them. He felt almost lighter in a way.

"I'm glad you told me," Sanji said quietly, reaching out to place a hand on the other man's leg, and instantly felt stupid for the gesture.

What the hell was he thinking? He couldn't imagine that being touched by someone you barely liked was even remotely comforting. But when he went to pull his hand away, it was met with resistance.

He looked down to see that the Marimo had grabbed his hand, and gave it a light squeeze.

"I'm glad I told you too," he said sincerely, giving the other man what he hoped was a meaningful look.

There was something about the way that Zoro was looking at him, that caused a strange feeling to bubble up inside Sanji. It literally felt like a hoard of butterflies were loose inside his guts, and he couldn't quite figure out what the sensation meant. He had never felt anything even remotely close to this before. His breathing picked up slightly, and could literally feel as his face began to burn, with what he was sure was a bright red.

Zoro was confused by the reaction, and was worried for a moment that maybe he actually upset the other man. He was about to pull his hand away and apologize, when something unexpected happened.

Sanji wrapped his arms around his neck, and pulled him forward until his head was resting on his chest. Zoro's eyes widened, caught off guard and confused by the action. But he was even more confused when he didn't immediately pull away.

He couldn't explain it, but he felt something strange when he was in the blonde's arms…almost like…almost like he was safe. That nothing could harm him as long as he was there.

He instantly blushed at the thought, feeling completely stupid for even thinking such a thing. Yet, he still didn't pull away. And instead wondered if Sanji could hear his heart racing just as clearly as he could hear Sanji's.

…

"Wow, I wasn't expecting them to have so much…stuff." Usopp said lowly, taking in the sight of the small town that was just a couple miles inland.

"What did you expect? They were exiled here, who knows how many years ago…of course they were going to find a reasonable way to live." Nami replied, although she honestly hadn't expected things to be that well developed either. She had been half expecting tents, or shacks or something, but it seems the men who had once lived on the main island, were fairing pretty well here.

There were hundreds of solid looking houses made out of both stone and lumber as far as the eye could see. There were also a few larger looking building, which they assumed consisted of different stores, hospitals, libraries, and schools…this place literally had everything…except for women of course.

"It is an interesting situation, that's for sure." Robin said, her voice holding no real wonder, but they could tell she was just as surprised as them. "Now, to the most important issue at hand…"

"Right, we need to start looking for Lucy and her sister," Nami nodded.

"Actually, I was referring to the fact that we should probably catch up with captain-san before he robs that house of all their food." Robin said casually, pointing toward their captain, who was currently in the distance, tip toeing toward an open window, where he most likely smelled something good.

"THAT IDIOT!" Both Nami and Usopp shouted, before taking off in a hurry toward their captain. Robin followed closely behind, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

Luffy was half way through the window when he was yanked back, falling roughly to the ground. He was about to protest, but was silenced with a fist to the back of his head before he could even speak.

"What happened to being the king of discreet?" Nami said, as calmly as she could manage, though her teeth were clenched as she spoke.

"I was being discreet…I checked to make sure nobody was home first!"

"You still tried to break in and steal!"

"I'm a pirate!"

"Keep your voice down!"

"Umm, guys?" Usopp said quietly, tapping Nami on the shoulder, but his presence seemed to go unnoticed.

"You sure give me a lot of orders considering _I'm_ the captain!"

"Well I wouldn't have to give you so many orders if you actually started _acting_ like the captain!"

"Umm, guys…"

"I'm the captain so I get to decide how the captain acts!"

"You're such an idiot!"

"Guys!" Usopp said a little more forcefully this time, which finally seemed to get the other's attention.

"WHAT!" Both Nami and Luffy snapped.

"It looks like Luffy didn't check as closely as he thought he did…" Usopp answered, receiving two very confused looks until a strange voice spoke, snapping both of their attentions towards it.

"Who are you people? And why are you on my property?" An elderly man, looking to be in his 70's asked, a much younger man standing closely behind him.

In a matter of seconds, the plan Nami had laid out before they went a shore was completely ruined. She swore, one day she really was going to wring that rubber-neck of his.

…

 **A/N: Hey everybody! I hope all of you are doing well, and I apologize for the wait for this chapter. I have been busy with school starting up, and I find myself getting too distracted from schoolwork when I attempt to write any sort of fanfiction. I get too caught up in plotting the story out and such, that I can't concentrate on the stuff I need to be concentrating on. That being said, I really do need to warn that upcoming chapters will likely be very slow to be posted. Obviously I will try and get them up as often as I can, but I can't promise anything. Updates will likely become regular again after the semester ends, but until then, I ask for your patience.**

 **But thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! And I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate it. Please let me know what you think. I don't want to sound like I'm begging for reviews here, but the last few chapters I've written I've been extremely self conscious about. And that goes for other things I have attempted to write, but haven't posted…I was attempting to work on a High School AU ZoSan, but found it to be a struggle…I guess I'm feeling like I'm losing the ability to write good fanfiction…I dunno. It might just be related to the whole stresses of school thing…either way, hearing your thoughts would mean a lot, and hopefully it will help me work through whatever funk I'm in, so that I can attempt to bring you chapters faster.**

 **Anyway I'm rambling now. Thanks again for reading, let me know what you thought, and I will try and get you more soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey everybody! I hope you are all doing well :D I'm glad I was able to get this up without making you wait too too long, though I apologize for the wait anyway. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You are all awesome, and I appreciate them all XD**

 **I want to briefly mention something before you read this chapter…after reading chapter 812 of the manga, I decided to add Sanji's family name into this story, but don't worry, I don't spoil anything from the actual manga. But still, to those of you who only watch the anime, I don't want you to read my version of Sanji's past, and think that it's at all cannon. The only thing I used was the family name, everything else was 100% made up. And now that that is out of the way, I hope you enjoy!**

…

 **7 Days Until the Trial**

"Who are you people? And why are you on my property?" An elderly man, looking to be near his 70's asked, a much younger man standing closely behind him.

The four-crew members briefly froze, Robin being the first to snap back into action.

"I'm very sorry to disturb you gentlemen. Me and my friends were simply passing by…"

"We don't usually get people simply passing by in these parts. A log pose doesn't even register this island." The old man interrupted, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the four individuals.

"That's true. But we were on the main island and were chased off by the King's guards before the log could reset. We likely would've been lost at sea for a very long time, but thankfully we spotted this small island." Nami said, finally snapping out of her shock as well. She could see the old man visibly relax at her statement.

"The king's guards chased you off huh? I'm not surprised." The old man mumbled, shaking his head. "You must be tired. Why don't you come in and rest a while?"

"Will there be snacks involved?" Luffy asked, ignoring the glare he received from Nami.

"Of course," the old man nodded, gesturing for the four of them to follow him.

Nami, Usopp, and Robin exchanged a skeptical look, before following after their captain and the two strange men.

The inside of the house was surprisingly cozy. The walls were lined with wood paneling, giving it a rustic feel. There was a small fireplace against one wall, and a small kitchen just adjacent to it. There was a small table sitting just outside of the kitchen, and the cottage was completed with two single beds tucked away in the corner of the living room, which also seemed to double as their bedroom. It may have been small, but the atmosphere was very warm and inviting.

The old man placed six cups around the table, placing the kettle in the center, giving the tea a few minutes to steep. After the tea was finally served, and much to Luffy's delight the snacks, the silence that had been hanging in the air finally broke, as the old man began to speak.

"So, what did you kids do in order to get chased off the island? Was it just because you have men on your crew?"

"Not exactly…it's a little more complicated than that." Nami answered, not sure how much she should actually be saying. They didn't know this man after all, he could be working with the King or his daughters and they would have no idea…although she couldn't really imagine that being the case. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

"They took two of our nakama prisoner, and plan to execute them in a week. But we're not going to let that happen."

Nami held back a groan at Luffy's statement. When was he ever going to learn to just keep his mouth shut? Didn't he know by now to let her do the talking?

"What did your friends do to get arrested?" The old man continued, becoming increasingly curious. They were all pretty isolated on this island, and got so few visitors, that it was interesting to be able to hear their stories when they did get them. Especially when it involved the king and their homeland.

"Well…" Nami sighed, not really able to think of a way to get out of this one. But the old man seemed to be fairly trustworthy, so with some reluctance, she explained the entire story to him. From Sanji being spotted with one of the King's daughters, to all the lies she had to tell to keep everyone out of jail. The old man listened intently to every word she spoke.

"I see, that certainly is an interesting story," the old man said after she finished, thinking over some details, before speaking next, "And I actually think I might be able to help you out. I may know where you will be able to find Lucy and the others."

"What? Really?!" Nami's eyes brightened up, but then narrowed slightly in suspicion. Even though he seemed nice enough, and like he was telling the truth, she knew it would be foolish to trust someone so blindly. Besides…weren't Lucy and her sister princesses? So even though the men were forced to live on a separate island, weren't they technically still obligated to follow their orders? This whole thing seemed a little too good to be true.

"I can read that look little lady, and I can assure you my intentions are pure."

"Why would you want to help us?"

"I, like many men on this island, have many reasons to resent the King and the laws he has made. About 8 years back, shortly after the laws were created, my wife fell ill…she died a short time later, and thanks to the king, I wasn't able to be by her side when it happened." The old man said, getting a wistful look in his eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Nami spoke softly, a feeling of guilt welling up inside her.

"Don't be my dear. I'm sad to say that many of the men on this island have similar stories…just like many of the women back on the main land weren't able to be by their husband's sides as they died. It is an awful situation for everyone."

"Pardon me for asking," Robin said, sipping at her tea. "Why don't the women from the island simply move here to be with the men? I understand that the laws are in place to keep the King's daughters away from men, but surly the rest of the women should be given a choice."

"That's an excellent point, and any rational individual would think the same thing, but unfortunately the King is not rational." The old man sighed. "Just over 8 years ago, something happened, something tragic, to the King's eldest daughter…"

The room went silent at the old man's words, everyone on the edge of their seats, curious to know how a sane man could make such laws.

"This is my son-in-law," the old man said, gesturing to the younger man beside him, "so I have a daughter myself…a small part of me could almost understand where the King is coming from. The pain he experienced would've been extreme…" The old man trailed off, staring down at his cooling mug of tea, tears welling up in his eyes.

The younger man set a hand on his shoulder in comfort, before turning back to the other four, carrying on where his father-in-law left off.

"Her name was Rose, and she was to be the future queen of our country. She was a very kind, and gentle person, and loved to explore the kingdom, meeting as many of the people as she could. She believed that there shouldn't be a divide between those considered royalty and noble, and those not. She was truly admired and loved by all. Not too mention considered to be the most beautiful of all the King's daughters. Her hand in marriage was sought out by many. Princes from several different islands traveled here in the hopes of meeting her and winning her hand. She was so kind, that she never turned anyone away, and always made a point to talk to them, to get to know them, but in the end, her people were her true passion, and she had no real interest in getting married."

The old man got up from the table, excusing himself, before making his way outside.

"I apologize, this is a hard story for all of us, the princess was truly beloved, but it is especially hard for my father-in-law. He, along with his late wife, worked at the palace for years, until they retired. So they got to see many of the King's eldest daughters grow up...including Rose."

The four Strawhats nodded in understanding, feeling a growing sense of dread inside of them. They didn't know how this story was going to end, but they knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

…

"Well…" Zoro said expectantly. Things had gotten slightly awkward between the two of them after the impromptu embrace had ended, both of them sitting on opposite sides of the cot quietly. Neither knew what to make of what happened, and what it could possibly mean, so Zoro decided to change the subject, and hopefully distract them, if only for a short while.

"Well, what?" Sanji said, finding himself searching his pockets for what must've been the thousandth time, trying to find a pack of cigarettes he knew wasn't there.

"I told you something about me and my past, don't you think it's only polite to reciprocate?"

"Wow, reciprocate, I didn't realize you knew such a big fancy word," Sanji teased, hoping Zoro would rise to the bait. He wasn't sure if he was ready to open up in the same way Zoro had, and was hoping to distract him with a fight. But Zoro just shot him a glare and stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. "You already know my past. How I was raised on the Baratie, after Zeff rescued me…I even told everyone about the whole starvation thing after Usopp tried to waste food that one time…"

"I know all of that, but I also know that you were like ten or something when that happened. You can't tell me you didn't have a life before that, before the Baratie."

"Of course I did…" Sanji sighed, "I worked on the passenger ship the Orbit…" Zoro shot him another look and he rolled his eyes, but stayed silent. He had made a specific point to avoid talking about where he had come from, and didn't know if he should actually tell Zoro. What would the other man think? Would he look at him differently? Think less of him?

That thought caused an unpleasant feeling to churn inside of him, and he wished desperately that he could get out of this situation. But then he remembered…he remembered how Zoro had opened up to him, even though it was clear he didn't want to. He told him things that were painful to him, things he likely hadn't told anyone else on the crew. Surely he owed him the same?

"Have you ever heard of the Vinsmoke family?" Sanji asked quietly after a moment, staring at a stain on the wall on the other side of the room, actively avoiding Zoro's eyes, which he could feel boring holes into the side of his head.

"No…" Zoro answered, wondering why Sanji was avoiding his stare.

"Well, they are a noble family of the highest degree…Celestial Dragons and everything."

"Okay…and?" Zoro asked after a few moments passed, and Sanji stayed silent. The silence was tense, almost suffocating. The realization of what Sanji was about to say was beginning to dawn on Zoro, and he froze for a moment, not quite able to wrap his mind around it.

"I'm the third son of the Vinsmoke family…" His voice was so quiet that Zoro was sure if he was sitting any further away, that he wouldn't have been able to hear him.

Even though Zoro had been bracing himself for that, actually hearing it out loud still surprised him.

"Y-you're a Celestial Dragon?" He was finally able to ask once his brain got over the initial shock.

"I wouldn't exactly say that…" Sanji whispered, chancing a look up at Zoro, to see the confused, almost angry, look he had feared. What was the other man thinking? Did he see him as less than now that he knew? It was killing him not to be able to tell how he was feeling. "I ran away when I was fairly young. I highly doubt they would still consider me a Celestial Dragon. In fact I'm pretty sure they more or less consider me dead to them."

Zoro stayed silent for a few moments, taking in exactly what he was say. Despite not knowing about his early childhood, he had really thought he had known the other man. They were friends weren't they? Nakama? Rivals? This wasn't like Zoro keeping quiet about the fact that his sword once belonged to his dead friend, this was on a whole other level…and he couldn't help but think that if Sanji could hide something this big, then did he really know him at all?

He hated to admit it, but the thought hurt. He couldn't understand why Sanji wouldn't be able to confide in him, or the rest of the crew, about this. He tried not to jump to any conclusions though and remembered the fact that this was Sanji. Celestial dragon or not, Sanji was still their Nakama, that would never change. But despite that he was curious to learn more…to maybe be able to understand Sanji just a little better.

"Why did you run away?" Zoro asked, causing Sanji to look up in surprise.

Sanji didn't know what he had been expecting, though loathing, anger, and betrayal all came to mind. But seeing Zoro's face now, there wasn't an ounce of hatred or disgust on it, far from it, which caused him to visibly relax.

"As I'm sure you, and basically the rest of the world know…Celestial Dragons aren't good people, at least most of them anyway. They are spoiled, self-righteous, pompous assholes, which think they can do anything they want and get away with it. And the really disgusting part is that they're right…they can do anything and get away with it. Including murder…"

Zoro could see instantly that there was far more to this story, and judging from the pain in the other man's eyes, he wasn't sure whether he actually wanted to hear the truth or not. But if Sanji was prepared to open up, then he wasn't about to stop him.

He scooted across the cot, placing a hand on the other man's back in comfort, and stayed silent, giving Sanji whatever time he needed before he continued. He would wait all night if he had to.

…

"As I was saying, Rose was adored by all," the younger man continued, after taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "And she had many suitors, many of which would've likely killed to be with her. Well on the night of her 21st birthday, a huge ball was held in her honor. Almost the entire kingdom was invited, Lady Rose not wanting anyone to be left out. Also in attendance were many of the suitors from different kingdoms…nobody knows for certain what exactly happened that night, but apparently after Lady Rose excused herself to freshen up, she was followed by one of the suitors…a Celestial Dragon I believe. She had turned down his marriage proposal that evening and it was clear he resented her for that. Celestial Dragons get what they want, no matter what, and this particular one didn't take no for an answer. He followed her into the powder room and…he…he violated her, brutally."

Nami and Usopp both gasped at hearing that, even Robin's forever calm look cracked, and her eyes widened in shock. Luffy stayed silent, his eyes hidden beneath his hat, so nobody could see his reaction. But they could sense the aura he was giving off, and knew if the man responsible for violating the princess were in front of him, he would be likely taking his last breaths right now.

"Was she…was she killed?" Nami asked hesitantly. She didn't want to be insensitive, and knew it must've been a hard subject to discuss, but the man had stayed silent for a few moments, and slipped into an almost daze.

"No," the man finally answered, snapping back to reality. "Although some might argue that it might've been better if she had been. After that night Lady Rose lost a huge part of herself…she became quiet, introverted, paranoid even. She never left the castle…refused almost every visitor. The only ones that managed to get her to talk at all were her mother, who has since passed on, as well as her sister Grace, who had been closest with her. Eventually it got to be too much for her, she was driven mad…and about 6 months after the incident she took her own life. The King and Queen, the entire kingdom, was devastated. Nobody could bring themselves to accept it. The King seemed to take it especially hard, and was so heartbroken and angry, that he lost his ability to think rationally. So afraid was he that this could potentially happen to one of his other 12 daughters, that he went to the extreme to ensure it wouldn't, that it couldn't, which is where his laws came in."

As insane as the laws seemed at the time, and still seemed even in light of the new information, they were beginning to at least understand where he could've possibly been coming from.

"Why force all the other women to stay? Why not just confine his daughters, if his sole motive was to keep them safe?" Robin asked.

"I can't say for sure, but before the tragedy, the King was a very kind man. Much like Rose, he was widely adored and admired, and was very close to his people. Which is why I believe, at least in his mind, he sees every woman in the kingdom as one of his daughters, and that he was going to do whatever he needed to protect each and everyone of them."

"There are so many flaws in his logic…" Robin said, to which the man only nodded sadly.

"Just like Rose, I believe the King was almost driven mad because of the incident. And even though the laws seem harsh, and insane, I believe that in the King's mind they make perfect sense."

None of them could come close to being able to imagine what the King must've went through, so none of them felt like they could truly judge his actions. But that didn't change the situation they were currently in, and what they still had to do.

"So Lucy and Grace…" Nami trailed off, hoping the man would continue to fill in the blanks for them.

The old man returned in that moment, carrying a bundle of firewood with him. Usopp immediately jumped up to help, taking the wood from the old man, and placing it by the fire. The old man thanked him, throwing a log on the dwindling blaze, before taking his seat at the table.

"Other than Rose, Grace and Lucy were the King's two eldest daughters. At the time of the incident, Grace was 19, and Lucy 17. They may have been young, but both Princess's had managed to find love, and both were engaged to be married. Grace was betrothed to a noble man named David, who was from one of the closer islands to us. Lucy was engaged to a man named Peter. He wasn't a nobleman, or a prince, but his family was very wealthy and contributed a lot to the island and its well-being, and seeing as she was only third in line to be queen, the King allowed the engagement anyway despite his bloodline. But after the new laws were set in place, nobody was excluded from them. David was sent back to his island, forbidden to return, and Peter, like the rest of us, was sent here, where he still remains."

"So Lucy and Grace…"

"Are likely with Peter." The old man nodded, finishing Nami's thought for her. "And if I had to guess David is either with them, or their plan is to escape this island and meet up with him…either way, if they are still here, I can't imagine they will be for very long."

"It's already been nearly 24 hours…they wouldn't have gotten away already, would they have?" Usopp asked, the question hanging heavy in all of their minds.

If they were already gone, there was no way they would be able to find them, at least not in time to bring them back for the trial…they didn't even want to think about what that would mean for their nakama.

"My guess would be no, not yet. They would need time to gather what they needed and come up with a proper plan…that being said, even if they are on this island still, it's not going to be for long. You won't be able to waste any time if you want to catch them."

"Do you know where we can look? This might not be a very big island, but if we are as short on time as you're implying, we could use any help you can offer." Robin said.

"My son-in-law, John, knows where Peter's house is, and will take you their immediately. I would go myself, but it is a fairly long walk, and I fear I would only slow you down."

"Thank you so much sir," Nami said, as everyone quickly gathered their things. But there was something still nagging at her, and before they could leave the cottage, she turned back to the old man and asked, "Why are you doing this for us? I know you said you had reason to resent the king and his laws, but you also seemed to be very loyal and sympathetic towards the princess's…so why betray them?"

"I don't see it as betraying them…I see it as helping them. There is one more part to this story, one I dare not say. I made a promise, and it is one I will take to my grave. But if you can convince Grace and Lucy to reveal it, then maybe, just maybe, you will not only save your friends, but also set the rest of the kingdom free."

Nami's brow furrowed in confusion, and she wanted to press the old man for details, but instead nodded and followed the others out the door. Despite not knowing much about him, he seemed like a man of his word, and if he said he would take the secret to the grave with him, she believed it. All they could hope for now was that they would find the Princess's in time, and that they could convince them to see reason, and share whatever secret it was the old man was talking about.

…

 **A/N: I would love to hear any thoughts or theories you might have :D**

 **After writing this and proof reading it (I apologize for any remaining mistakes) I can't help but think this story is getting a lot more serious and dramatic then I ever intended it to be. Originally this was supposed to be 100% comedy, but shit just keeps getting more and more real, lol. I apologize to anyone who isn't loving the shift this story has taken, and I do promise there will be more comic relief in the future, but things will probably remain fairly serious for a while. Anyway, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. And as always I can't promise when the next update will be, but I will try not to keep you waiting too long. Now let's hear your thoughts!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! Happy Saturday to you all! I hope everyone is doing well :D And I of course want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. The response was great, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it. Especially when I've been doubting my writing like I have, it's very reassuring to hear from you guys like that, so thank you.**

 **And even though we got yet another new revelation about Sanji's family in chapter 814, I stuck with my original plan for Sanji's past, and didn't try to incorporate the new information in. So don't worry for anime only watchers, there is still no spoilers about the manga in here. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

…

 **6 Days Until Trial**

"What did you mean before when you said 'including murder'?" Zoro asked gently, giving the other man's hand a tight squeeze.

It had been a few hours since their conversation originally began, Sanji falling into an uneasy sleep before he could muster up the courage to continue his story. Zoro did exactly what he told himself he would do, and waited all night, remaining close to the other man just in case he needed him.

Now that he was awake again, Zoro was encouraging him to continue. He didn't plan on forcing the issue, but Sanji had seemed a little out of it since he had woken up, like his mind was being plagued by memories from his past, and Zoro wanted to do anything he could to help. And he felt like getting the blonde to open up and share was the best way to do that.

"Zoro…"

"You really don't have to say if you don't want to. But just so you know…I would never judge you, especially for something you had nothing to do with." Zoro said gently, hoping to put the other man's mind at ease. He had continued to avoid meeting his eyes, and he hated the thought that Sanji might think that he was thinking less of him in that moment.

"But I'm a part of it…"

"You might have been a part of that family, but you were 9 when you left! You can't possibly blame yourself for anything your family did."

"It's not that easy…" Sanji began, after a few moments. He took a deep breath, hoping to calm his nerves, and stop the shaking of his usually steady hands. This was turning out to be harder than he thought it was going to be, and was close to telling Zoro to forget it, when he felt another tight squeeze against his hand. _You can do this,_ he told himself, taking one last deep breath. "I hated seeing people get hurt…especially women…"

"What do you mean?"

"I know women are strong…they are the strongest people in the world…only physically they sometimes fall short. My father, and older brother's…they treated women as toys. Like they were something they could use, fuck, beat, to their hearts content, and then walk away like nothing happened. They didn't even care if they ended up dead or not…"

"Sanji…"

"My father always treated my brothers differently than me. My brothers were older by quite a bit. One was 10 years older, the other 12. So when my mother got pregnant with me she was warned that there might be complications, due to her being past her prime child bearing years. But she didn't care; she refused to take the doctors suggestions, and carried me to term anyway. And just like the doctor predicted, there were complications, resulting in both of us nearly losing our lives…but some how I survived, and she didn't. I think my father blamed me for that fact, and you know, I can't say I blame him."

"You can't possibly believe that it was your fault your mother died?"

"But it _was_ my fault. If she would've just listened to the doctors then…" Sanji trailed off, his heart clenching painfully at the thought. Even though he never knew his mother, and couldn't say that he actually missed her, he still felt a strong connection to her, and the thought that he was to blame for her death was almost crippling.

"Then what? Then she would've had to live out the rest of her life in guilt, thinking about the child she aborted."

"I don't think…" Sanji began, but was interrupted when Zoro continued.

"I might not know a lot about child and parent relationships. I never knew my parents, so obviously I'm not an expert on the subject…but I do know that parents are supposed to love their kids above all else, and do everything in their power to protect them. So in my mind your mother just did something any decent mother would've done…she sounds like a good woman."

Sanji sat silently for a moment, taking Zoro's words in. He knew logically that he was right, but it was hard to believe when your father and brothers told you differently for 9 years.

"Thanks Zoro."

"No problem." Zoro said, giving his hand another squeeze. "Do you want to stop now? Or continue?"

Sanji thought about it for a moment. Before he would've liked nothing more than to say he wanted to stop. But now that he got started, he felt like he needed to continue, that he needed to get this burden off his chest before it suffocated him, no matter how painful some of the memories might be. He may not have realized it before, and kept the memories comfortably at bay for years, but he needed this…more than he ever would've thought possible.

"I was raised by a nanny, she was a former maid at our family's mansion. From the time I was just a baby, until I was 9, she was the only parent I ever really knew…the only person to ever show me any sort of love….I saw her as a mother…and one day, one day I slipped up, I said something I shouldn't have, and she died because of it." His voice began shaking near the end, causing Zoro's stomach to clench uncomfortably. There was something about seeing the blonde so vulnerable, so upset, that shook Zoro to his very core, and he would've done anything in that moment to take that pain away.

"Sanji…" Zoro whispered, thinking the other man finally had enough, when he continued.

"She died, and it was all my fault…" The words broke Zoro's heart. He wanted to comfort the other man by telling him it was okay; that whatever happened wasn't his fault. But he knew his words wouldn't get through to the other man. He was no stranger to the feeling of guilt, and trying to blame yourself for something that clearly wasn't your fault, and no amount of people telling you otherwise would change that. And he knew his words would be especially meaningless seeing as he had no idea what the cook was even talking about.

"What happened?" Zoro asked carefully, after giving the blonde a few moments to collect himself. He knew if Sanji didn't continue now, it would only be that much harder in the future to try and talk about it.

"She was my nanny…my maid…and to my father that was all she would ever be. But one day…one day I slipped up. I called her mother, and my father overheard. He was so angry. Especially considering what I did to my actual mother…" Sanji's voice broke as he continued, "I never saw her again after that day, she was just…she was just gone. And I never got a chance to say goodbye, to tell her how much she meant to me…to thank her for everything she did." The pain got to be too much, and to avoid a complete mental break down, Sanji lashed out, trying to subside the pain he felt by causing some physically.

He punched the closest wall as hard as he could, but the stone was unyielding, and Zoro's eyes widened when he heard a sickening crack. The cook pulled his hand back, and Zoro could see the blood that now stained the wall.

He was about to hit it again, when Zoro caught his wrist just in time, the bloody knuckles mere inches from the stone.

"What the hell cook!?" Zoro snapped, but stopped himself from yelling at the blonde like he wanted too, when he saw the look on his face. He sighed and said instead, "There's a reason you don't fight with your hands dumbass."

Sanji felt humiliated for losing control like that, and couldn't look Zoro in the eyes as the other man did his best to bandage his hand with some material he tore off from the suit he had been wearing.

He couldn't believe what he had done, how he had just jeopardized his greatest tool, and why? Because he was weak, and couldn't control his emotions…

"Can you move your fingers?" Zoro asked, for the second time, which seemed to finally snap the other man out of his thoughts.

Sanji wiggled his fingers, hissing in pain as he did so.

"Guess you didn't fuck it up too bad if you can still move it…though it definitely looks like you broke something. Try not to move it."

"You're the one that told me to move it…"

"Only to see how badly you messed it up!" Zoro rolled his eyes, which seemed to cause the smallest smile to tug at the other man's lips.

Zoro grabbed his uninjured hand, and waited silently for the other man to continue. Despite what had just happened, he knew there was still more to this story, and that Sanji wouldn't be able to move on until he properly confronted it.

He wasn't sure how much time had actually passed by, it could've been minutes, it could've been hours, but finally Sanji continued.

"I never knew what actually happened to her, there was no note, no goodbye…but I had a pretty good idea. I had seen the others." Sanji seemed to flinch as he said that, likely seeing things he had tried so hard to forget. "Other women that were killed at the hands of the men in my family, because they thought they were better, that they were superior to them…in their eyes women were disposable. They could be used however they saw fit, and then easily discarded before being replaced with the next one. It made me absolutely sick…my nanny, she had been so kind, my mother sacrificed herself for me…women were amazing! I couldn't understand how they could feel the way they did."

"Is that why you have such a strong pull toward women? Why you treat them the way you do?" Zoro asked, hoping he wasn't out of line in asking.

"I never really thought about it before, but I suppose that probably makes sense, doesn't it? I just always remember having a strong bond with them. Like they were precious, like they needed protecting. I know I go overboard sometimes but…I don't know. I can't help it I guess."

Zoro only nodded. He never understood the cook's obsession with women before. Why he let them walk all over him like he did. But now, after hearing his story, it was all starting to make sense.

"When I was nine, after my nanny disappeared, I finally had enough. I didn't want anything to do with that family, and wanted to get as far away from them as possible. So one night, after everyone was asleep, I snuck out and made my way to the docks. There were mainly cargo ships there, and I didn't really fancy getting stuck on one of those, so I chose to sneak on to the one lone passenger ship, the Orbit. I managed to hide myself aboard for several days until they finally found me. But thankfully by that time we were far enough away from my home island, and we had stopped at enough islands since then that they couldn't possibly pinpoint where I had come from. So they forced me to work off my debt in their kitchens, but I ended up staying even after I earned enough to pay my fare. I discovered a love of cooking, and didn't want to leave. You know the story after that, how I ended up with Zeff…so yeah. That's my whole story I guess."

It was definitely a lot to take in, and a silence grew between them that lasted several minutes.

Zoro couldn't believe that Sanji had been carrying around such secrets for so long, and couldn't imagine how much of a burden it must've been.

Almost everyone on the crew had a tragic past, some more than others, but this was different. Sanji hadn't just been subject to loss and pain like many of the rest of them, he had to live in a corrupt world where it was deemed as okay, and from the sounds of his father and brothers, where it was encouraged. Not only that but he was targeted and blamed by his family because of something that was completely out of his control. The guilt he must've been carrying around was unimaginable.

"You're a good person cook." Zoro said after a moment, seeing a lone tear falling from the blonde's exposed eye. "I know we give each other shit all the time, and are constantly fighting…but in the end, there isn't anyone I trust, or respect more than you. Sure, I have an insane amount of respect for Luffy, but that's different. With you, I always know you have my back, and in the real difficult situations I know I can count on you to help protect the rest of the crew. You're my rival, my equal, and from the moment you joined the crew onwards, I can't picture my life without you in it."

Sanji looked up, completely shocked by Zoro's words. He looked for signs of joking on the other man's face, but saw none. He didn't understand how Zoro could even look at him after hearing about his past, let alone say the things he was.

"Don't get me wrong…you're still as annoying as fuck." Zoro chuckled, seeing the brief irritated twitch of the cook's eyebrow, "But your annoying in a good way I guess…I don't know if that makes sense. I love to tease you, and I love when we fight, it might sound weird, but it's almost the highlight of my day…well that and my naps and booze. I think I'm getting off topic though…the point I was trying to make is that you're a good person. You're the cook of the Straw Hat pirate crew, not some psychopathic Celestial Dragon asshole. And don't ever think differently just because of where you came from."

Sanji had to turn his head away from the other man, feeling even more tears burning at his eyes. He hated that the Marimo's words were affecting him in such a way, but he couldn't seem to control it. His biggest fear in life was someone close to him finding out about his past, and having them turn their back on him, which is exactly what he always assumed would happen. Not even Zeff, who he had looked up to as a father, knew where he came from for that reason. So hearing Zoro say that his past didn't matter, and that he accepted him anyway, was overwhelming.

"Come here shit cook," Zoro said, ignoring Sanji's groans of protest, as he grabbed his arms and pulled him toward him.

Sanji struggled against the other man's hold at first, not wanting Zoro to realize he was crying, especially not considering his earlier breakdown. The last thing he wanted was to appear weak in the other man's eyes…but eventually he gave up the struggle.

He would rather die before ever admitting it out loud, but he never felt as relaxed or safe as he did in the swordsmen's arms. And right now, there was nowhere in the world where he would rather be.

And both men were so wrapped up in the embrace, and the story being told, that they hadn't heard the one guard that had moved closer to the cell. Who was now walking away with a heavy heart having heard everything…

…

"Are we there yet?" Luffy groaned, grabbing his stomach that gave out an audible growl.

"For the 100th time, no…" John, the man that was showing them the way, said through gritted teeth.

They had been walking for hours now, and even though he had been all too happy to show them the way at first, the raven-haired teen had quickly gotten on his nerves, and now he couldn't wait to finally be rid of them.

"But I'm starving…" Luffy whined.

"We just finished eating less than an hour ago!" Nami snapped, feeling a headache coming on. Between the length of the walk, the increasing heat due to the glaring sun, and Luffy's constant complaining, she could feel herself approaching her breaking point, and just prayed that they reached this place soon…otherwise she couldn't be held responsible for her actions.

"But we barely had anything!"

"We ate a giant deer!" Nami hissed.

"Which we still agree we won't tell Chopper about…" Usopp chimed in.

"Well I'm still hungry…" Luffy muttered, crossing his arms in a pout.

The group continued walking in silence for a few minutes, letting any tension that had been building up subside.

As much as the heat and the exhaustion had been getting to them, it wasn't solely that that had everyone on edge. Nobody would say it, because none of them even wanted to consider the possibility, but they were worried…they were worried that they wouldn't make it in time and that Lucy and her sister Grace would be long gone by the time they finally made it to this house. And if that ended up being the case…they could kiss any chance of clearing Sanji's and Zoro's names goodbye.

The reality of the situation was heavy in their hearts, and they were all trying to cope with it in their own way.

"Are we there yet?"

"LUFFY I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP I WILL…"

But Nami's rant was cut off when John spoke.

"Actually yes, we're here."

All four straw hats snapped their heads up, looking in the distance where John was pointing.

They were currently in a forest, quite a ways outside of the town. When John had first led them out this way, they were beginning to doubt him and whether or not he actually knew where he was going. But sure enough, sitting there, in the middle of nowhere, nestled amongst a few giant trees, was a small log cabin.

Nami was about to open her mouth and say something, when she saw the door to the cabin begin to open. A young man, looking to be in his mid-twenties walked out, stretching his arms above his head, before pulling a cigarette out and lighting it.

All of their jaws dropped opened at once, none of them quite able to believe what they were seeing. Even though they were still a good distance away, the resemblance was unmistakable.

"I can't believe it," Robin said, her mouth twitching up in amusement.

"Impossible!" Usopp whispered, rubbing his eyes just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"That's incredible…" Nami said, not able to tear her eyes away from the man.

"It's Sanji!" Luffy said, a grin spreading across his face. "Maybe he and Zoro escaped! This is great! Now he can make some meat!" Luffy cheered, about to take off in a sprint toward the blonde man, when John, who had stayed silent up to that point, grabbed the collar of his shirt, to hold him back.

"I have no idea who this 'Sanji' is, but I assure you that's not him. That man is Peter, princess Lucy's fiancée."

They were all shocked by this, and slightly disappointed. Because even though they knew it was next to impossible, seeing the blonde, a small part of them had thought that maybe Sanji really did escape. It was foolish, but it was hard not to jump to that conclusion…the resemblance really was uncanny.

"Well that certainly explains why Lucy showed such an interest in Sanji…" Nami commented after a moment, everyone nodding in agreement. "But that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that Peter is still here, which means that Lucy and Grace must still be here as well. We made it in time, and now we have to bring them back with us."

"I wouldn't count on that…" A voice spoke from behind the group, causing them all to jump in surprise.

They turned around to see who the voice belonged to, only to be shocked to see the very two women they had been searching for…both of which currently had a riffle pointed directly at them.

All of a sudden the idea of convincing them to return with them, seemed like it was going to be a lot harder than they had originally thought.

…

 **A/N: Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? I hope you enjoyed, and that the serious note that this story has took isn't bumming you out too hard. I'm trying to incorporate little bits of humor in still, but it can be difficult at times. Anyway, please let me know what you thought, and I promise to try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can. XD**


	12. Chapter 12

…

 **6 Days Until the Trial**

 _They turned around to see who the voice belonged to, only to be shocked to see the very two women they had been searching for…both of which currently had a riffle pointed directly at them._

 _All of a sudden the idea of convincing them to return with them, seemed like it was going to be a lot harder than they had originally thought._

"What do you think you're doing here?" Grace was the first to speak, breaking the silence that had fallen all around them. The only sound that could be heard otherwise was Usopp's teeth chattering, and knees knocking together as they shook. For some reason having a gun in his face gave him a sudden case of 'I'm about to piss my pants' disease.

"We've come to bring you back to the castle," Luffy said bluntly, surprising Nami, who had been preparing some far-fetched story. Apparently he was taking the direct approach, which was fine with her. She was exhausted, and more than ready to leave it in their captain's hands…he was the captain for a reason after all. No matter how big of an idiot he might act like at times, he came through when it really mattered…and right now she would hate to be in the shoes of anyone who would get in the way of him helping his nakama.

"I'm afraid you came all this way for nothing then. There is no way we will be returning to the main island." Grace said, her voice remaining steady, and her glare leveling Luffy's own. They had worked too hard and too long for this day, and would gladly die before willingly return to the castle.

"And I'm afraid I wasn't asking…" Luffy countered, about to make his move, when they heard a cry from behind them.

"You think about touching either of them, and your friend here gets it…" Luffy, Robin, and Nami turned around to see Peter holding a knife to Usopp's throat, the latter being in full-blown tears at that point.

They froze upon seeing him. He looked even more like Sanji than they had originally thought. He was about the same height and build, and their hair was almost exactly the same. Even the small patch of facial hair on his chin was the same. The only way they could tell for sure that it wasn't their cook was the fact that this Peter had normal eyebrows.

"If you lay a finger on him!" Luffy began to move towards Peter, when Grace cocked the gun, aiming it directly at him.

"Don't move!" She shouted, but Luffy continued anyway, calling her on her bluff.

Much to his surprise she actually shot the riffle. He really didn't think she had it in her, and was almost mildly impressed. If you're going to pull a gun on someone, you better be prepared to use it, and apparently she was. But it was of course pointless because the bullet simply bounced off of him.

The looks on their faces would've been amusing under normal circumstances, but right now they still had a goal to complete, and Luffy used the confusion to his advantage, giving Robin a commanding look, who seemed to be able to read exactly what he was thinking.

He stretched his arms out, grabbing the knife out of Peter's hands before he could even process what he was seeing, while simultaneously wrapping his other arm around him, throwing him to the ground, where he held him in place.

At the same time as this, Robin produced several arms to grab the guns from the two Princesses, leaving a few arms in place to keep them still until Nami could properly secure all three with some rope Usopp happened to have on hand.

Once all three were secure, they sat them up against the trunk of a tree, contemplating what their next move should be.

…

He must've been exhausted. Zoro couldn't even imagine the emotional roller coaster the blonde had just experienced. Suppressing and hiding something like that for so long had to have been painful. He couldn't blame him for falling asleep once again.

He continued to hold him despite him being asleep, not wanting to move him and risk waking him up. As much as he might not care about something like that under normal circumstances, this was different. The cook just opened up and likely experienced the singularly most emotional moment of his life, so he certainly wasn't going to be the one to disturb his sleep.

And in all honesty he could use a bit of a break as well. He recently opened up himself, and now with the weight of Sanji's confession, he was finding himself more than a little exhausted, both mentally and physically. He hadn't slept in nearly 48 hours after all, staying awake the first night just incase the blonde had needed him…he had felt a little foolish for that at first, but was glad he did. If he had been asleep when Sanji had woken up the first time, then the cook likely would've never opened up to him, and would've probably talked himself out of it by the time Zoro had woken up and was ready to listen. So despite the tiredness pulling at his eyes, it was all worth it.

Learning more about the cook and his past, gave him a strange sense of pride and superiority. He had no idea why or where the feeling was coming from, but it felt good knowing that he knew more about the blonde than anybody else on or off the crew. He was the only one that got to see Sanji expose himself like that, and a selfish part of him hoped that he would choose not to confide in the rest of the crew about his past. He knew that was probably insane, and that if Sanji wanted to confide in the others then he should have every right to…but still, he couldn't stop that small part of him that hoped he didn't, and that the secret would remain something just the two of them shared.

The cook shifted in his arms, causing Zoro's eyes to snap down towards him, thinking he was waking up, only to see his eyes still closed, and a peaceful look still painted on his face.

He really did look differently when he slept compared to when he was awake. He looked almost innocent…like someone who has never known the pain he has, or has never dirtied himself in battle like he has. It was almost strange to see him this way, it felt almost…intimate…the thought of which caused another strange sense of superiority.

Zoro quickly shook his head, trying to push the feeling away. Being locked up for nearly two days without getting any sleep must really be getting to him.

He looked back down at the blonde, a smirk lighting up his face as he thought up a brilliant idea. Sanji kept his left eye covered constantly, and he never knew whether it was on purpose or accidental…either way, in all the time he has known the cook, he can't honestly recall if he has ever seen it or not. Some of the crew had even theorized whether or not he even had a left eye, which he personally thought was ridiculous, but he couldn't help but be curious. And there was no time like the present, right?

He moved his left hand ever so slowly until he reached the other man's face. He gently began moving his blonde fringe away, when he froze, feeling the cook begin to stir. His face began to heat up slightly, thinking he had been caught doing such a thing, but he quickly relaxed when it appeared to be another false alarm.

He waited a few extra seconds just to make sure the blonde really wasn't waking up, before continuing on his mission. He brushed the hair back carefully, and when the other eye was finally exposed, he had to use every ounce of his self-control not to burst out laughing right than and there.

His eyebrows were asymmetrical! The left one was pointing down and in the same direction as the other one! Seriously? Who had eyebrows like that!?

He had so many jokes he wanted to say to the other man, but knew he never would. If he were to make fun of him for it, than the blonde would know that he had invaded his personal space like he did, and he would rather avoid the hissy fit he would likely throw because of it…besides, this was yet another thing he now knew about the other man, something that no one else knew…and dammit, there was that feeling of pride again.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Zoro muttered under his breath, setting the blonde's fringe back into place. "Why do I keep feeling like this?"

He sighed, and chanced another look down at Sanji, hoping to find some sort of answer there. What he got instead was an indescribable flip in his stomach, almost making him feel borderline nauseous. Great, was he getting sick now?

He closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths, trying to will the feeling away, but every time he opened his eyes and looked back down at the blonde, the strange feeling returned.

He was getting frustrated with himself, and decided his lack of sleep really was getting to him. So he carefully shifted their position, and lowered Sanji carefully down on to the cot, so that he could lie down beside him.

Having both of them lying on it side by side, was a bit of a tight fit, but it wasn't too bad. Especially since Sanji's sleeping form seemed to naturally gravitate toward him, his face ending up on Zoro's chest, his uninjured hand clutching his shirt.

Zoro's face heated up slightly at the contact, and his stomach gave that same uncomfortable lurch as before. A part of him wanted to throw the other man off of him, to distance himself from this feeling as much as he possibly could. But another part, a stronger part, wanted to pull him even closer.

With a slight bit of hesitation, he wrapped his arms back around the blonde, holding him tight.

"What are you doing to me cook?" Zoro mumbled, before his eyes eventually grew too heavy, and he drifted off into a surprisingly peaceful sleep.

A few moments passed, before Sanji took the chance to slowly open his eyes. He felt bad for not making it known before that he had indeed woken up, but was too embarrassed at the time.

After everything he had told Zoro, not to mention his outburst when he hit the wall, he was far to humiliated to face him yet, so he pretended to be asleep.

It took every ounce of his self-control not to kick Zoro in the face when he lifted his hair up, and obviously saw his other eyebrow, but he managed to remain calm. But then something else happened, and Zoro had begun speaking…what did he mean by 'what was wrong with him?' and 'why was he feeling like that?' What was he talking about?

A million thoughts started to race through his mind at that point, and any chance he had at falling back asleep was long gone.

He thought he had been confused before, but it was nothing compared to how he was feeling now.

He thought he had felt something, something real when he was with Lucy. She was kind, beautiful, and she seemed to show him genuine interest whenever they were together, something not many women have showed him in the past.

But then to find out it was all an act, that she obviously never really cared for him… sure it hurt…but he couldn't help but think that it didn't hurt as much as maybe it should've.

At the moment he realized the betrayal, he was confused and hurt, but the second he saw Zoro being pulled away in handcuffs, any lingering thoughts of Lucy seemed to disappear almost immediately, and all he felt after that was guilt. He felt horribly for putting Zoro in this position, and would do anything to prevent him from harm.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "I won't let you pay for my mistake."

And he meant it. He still had faith that their friends would come through for them, but on the off chance that they didn't make it back in time…he had a plan. One he wouldn't hesitate to use.

Sanji sighed, trying to push the thoughts away. They still had about 6 days left, so he wouldn't let himself jump to worse case scenarios, at least not yet.

He heard Zoro begin to snore ever so slightly, and couldn't help but smile. It was silly, but over the last few days of their 'act' where he was forced to sleep in the crow's nest with the green-haired man, he had gotten so use to the sound of his snoring, that hearing it now was almost strangely comforting.

He carefully pulled his head off the other man's chest, and chanced a look up at Zoro's face. He was definitely in a deep sleep now. His mouth was wide open, and the tiniest bit of drool was leaking out of the corner of it. He bit his lip to hold back a chuckle at the sight…the Marimo could really be surprisingly adorable at times.

Wait, no…he did not just think of that stick-wielding idiot as adorable. He was boorish, lazy, and 90% of the time a complete and utter asshole…there was no way he was adorable…but as much as his mind protested the thought, his stomach gave a faint flutter that he couldn't ignore.

He had felt a similar feeling before, specifically anytime he saw a beautiful woman…but this time it was different…this time it was significantly stronger. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with him? Did Lucy's betrayal really mess him up that bad?

Sanji sighed again, doing his best to clear his mind of all thoughts, before lying his head back down.

"I think the better question is what are you doing to me? Damn Marimo…" And with that, Sanji eventually fell back asleep, his mind more clouded and confused than ever.

…

"Should we just bring them back to the ship?" Usopp asked, finally regaining his composer from his earlier scare.

"Sounds like a plan to me. The sooner we get this sorted out, the sooner our nakama will be free, and the sooner Sanji can make some meat…" Luffy nodded, receiving a less than amused look from Nami.

"Honestly, is that all you think about?"

"Nuh uh…I think about other stuff!"

"Like what?"

"Like One Piece and becoming king of the pirates." Luffy said, rolling his eyes like it should've been obvious.

"You've got such a one track mind you know that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"That's not surprising…"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!" Princess Grace finally snapped, having enough of the two's bickering. "And I demand you untie these ropes!"

"I don't think so, _your highness_ , not after what you just pulled." Nami said, forgetting all about her argument with Luffy, turning toward the three tied up individuals. "We could've done this the easy way, but you're the ones that resorted to this."

"That's because we can't, and won't be going back to the main island!" Grace snapped, struggling uselessly against the restraints.

"You can, and will be going back! I understand you were living with a shitty situation…"

"You understand nothing! You have no idea the pain and suffering we've endured over these past 8 years!"

"I understand the loss of your sister must've been painful, and that living without the men you loved must've been hard also, but you have no idea the pain and suffering you are causing our friends right now! They are locked in a dungeon waiting to be executed all because you," Nami shouted, pointing at the blonde girl who was now in tears, "couldn't keep your greedy hands off. Don't you even care that you put his life in danger? Are you so heartless that you're going to leave him to die!?"

"That's enough!" Grace snapped, "She knows what she did wrong, and she already feels horribly! She's barely stopped crying since we've left the castle!"

"Well she's about to feel a whole lot worse!" Nami hissed, about to advance on the tied up girl, when she felt a firm, strong hand on her shoulder. She turned around in surprise to see Luffy, with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Please, we need your help..." Luffy began, the sincerity in his voice causing the three bound individuals to pause. "The king won't listen to reason, and bringing you back with us is the only way. They're our friends, we can't sit back and allow them to die, so please…"

"This is all my fault," Lucy cried, breaking the silence that had fallen over them after Luffy's words. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I never wanted anything like this to happen!"

"Lucy," Peter said, trying to calm his fiancée who was now nearly hyperventilating she was sobbing so hard.

"He looked so much like you Peter…and I just, I just…I lost myself! I wasn't thinking! I ended up betraying both you and him and causing so much pain…"

"You can say that again," Nami muttered under her breath, but her words seemed to go ignored.

"You didn't betray me love…we agreed before we got separated that we would reunite someday, and that anything that happened while we were apart wouldn't matter. Can't say I'm thrilled about the idea of you being with some other man, but I understand it, especially if he looked like me. I couldn't even imagine what I would've done if I had run into some woman that looked like you. So please, don't think you betrayed me." Peter finished, causing Lucy's tears to fall even harder.

"Oh Peter!" She sniffled; wanting to wrap her arms around him, but was stopped by the restraints.

"Well I'm glad that that's all settled, but it doesn't change the fact that two of our nakama are waiting to die because of you." Nami snapped, getting annoyed by the touching scene playing out in front of them.

"Wait? Two? I thought Sanji was the only one that…"

"Well you're wrong!" Nami cut her off before she could finish. "Or did you forget what Sanji told you? I know he told you about the act he and Zoro had to put on in order to fool the king into thinking they weren't a threat…so by you exposing Sanji as straight, that more or less blew Zoro's cover as well. So now both of them are sentenced to die in 6 days, unless we can bring you back and have you convince the king that this was all your fault!"

Nami's words hung in the air for a few moments, the three tied up individuals absorbing everything she said.

Lucy bit her lip, and tried to suppress even more tears that were threatening to fall. She couldn't forget Sanji, and all the kindness he had shown her.

"I'll go." Lucy said after a few minutes, much to everyone in the clearings surprise. "I'll go back…but please allow my sister to remain here. If she is taken back too, she will never get another opportunity to escape, and she will never get a chance to see David again…at least I got to see Peter, one last time."

"Lucy!" Peter protested, cursing himself as he felt tears of his own begin to well up in his eyes. "You can't leave! We're finally together again!"

"I know…and the last thing I want to do is leave your side. But…I was the cause of this. And I can't start our new life off together with the guilt of being responsible for two innocent men's death hanging over my head. I need to do this."

"Lucy…" Peter said, trying to break free from the restraints.

The four straw hats exchanged a look and Luffy nodded, giving Robin permission to untie them all. Lucy seemed genuine in her words, and it wasn't as if they wouldn't be able to subdue them again if they did try and fight back, so they figured it would only be right to give them this final moment together.

As soon as the ropes were untied, Peter wrapped his arms around Lucy, pulling her into his lap holding her as close as he could. Both blondes were in tears now, and the scene was becoming increasingly difficult to watch, even for Nami who had wanted to strangle the blonde woman only minutes earlier.

They didn't want to have to tear the two a part, and wished there was some other way…but as of right now, bringing Lucy back was the only way to save their nakama, so that was exactly what they were going to do.

Grace watched the scene before her, her heart slowly breaking for her sister. She knew exactly how she was feeling in that moment, remembering all to well the pain she herself experienced all those years ago.

It wasn't fair, and she couldn't allow it to continue any more. She had to do something, and even though the thought made her sick to her stomach, she had no choice. She had to do it…not only for Lucy and Peter's sake, but for her own as well. And for the sake of all their younger sisters who might never find love of their own because of this.

"Lucy doesn't have to go…" Grace began, holding up her hand to silence all the protests that were about to begin. "She doesn't have to go because there is someone else that will be able to do a much better job of convincing my father."

"Grace, no…" Lucy began, but was quickly cut off by her sister.

"There's no other way." Grace sighed. "We've kept the promise we made for 8 long years, but it's time…it's time the kingdom, and father learn the truth."

The four straw hats watched the exchange between the sisters in udder confusion, watching as Lucy finally nodded her head in agreement. A few more tense moments of silence past before Grace finally spoke once more.

"Knowing my father he would likely kill your friends even if you do return us to the kingdom. My guess is he is just using you to retrieve us, and has no intention of actually listening to anything we have to say…that's why if you really want to save your friends, there is only one person in this world that my father might actually listen to..."

"Who are you talking about?" Nami asked.

The brunette princess took another few moments before she continued, telling the four straw hats everything. They all listened, in complete shock at what they were being told, having a hard time wrapping their heads around everything. Once she finally finished Nami audibly groaned…this was getting so much more complicated then she ever thought it was going to be. She almost wished she just let Luffy storm the castle and try and physically break their friends out like he had originally wanted to…it would've made things so much easier.

"And you're saying that this is the only way?" Nami finally said after a moment, receiving a reluctant nod from both Grace and Lucy.

"I really am willing to come back with you and try and reason with my father, but Grace is right…knowing him he plans to executed Sanji and Zoro no matter what I would say…so this really might be your best chance."

Nami, Robin, and Usopp all turned toward their captain, waiting for his decision, none of them surprised at the one he made.

"If this is our best chance at saving our nakama, then we'll do it." Luffy said, the rest of them nodding in agreement.

Things really were getting far more complicated then they could've ever imagined, but with their two friends lives on the line, they would gladly go to any lengths. It wasn't a question of if they would save them or not, it was just a question of how…they just prayed that Grace was being honest with them, and wasn't just sending them off on a wild goose chase so she could buy time for her and her sister to escape. Considering how desperate they were before, they wouldn't put anything passed them…but for now they would just have to have faith that the Princess's were better people than that.

After receiving an eternal log pose, and a few additional instructions, they took back off toward the Sunny. Their sense of urgency stronger now than ever.

…

 **A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! And I want to give a special thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. The reviews always put a smile on my face, and I appreciate them all. I was a little unsure about the quality of this chapter, and hope it came across okay. I'll try and improve for future chapters, and hoped this was okay in the meantime. So let me know what you thought…any guesses what the secret is? Thank you for reading and I will see you guys soon!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait. This last week was extra busy. For us in Canada this coming week is what we call 'reading week' which I think is our equivalent to spring break in the states, at least as far as universities go…anyway, I've had a lot of exams and projects due this last week so I had zero time to work on this. That being said, I wrote this last night, and I don't know how good I feel about this chapter, especially seeing how amazing you guys have been with the reviews lately (thank you by the way, you have no idea how much I appreciate them). This is a little shorter than I would like to be, and is almost a little fillerish I guess…but I hope you like it anyway. There's definitely one thing in it I know you will enjoy XD**

…

 **5 Days Until the Trial**

"We've been traveling for nearly 24 hours now…any idea how much longer this is going to take?" Franky asked, voicing the question that was currently weighing heavily on all of their minds.

Nami sighed, looking back down at the map and log pose they were give by the Princess's before they had left, feeling an overwhelming sense of hopelessness when looking at the facts.

"I can't say for sure…but according to the map and from what I understood from Grace, it could take another day, day and a half, before we arrive…"

"With that, and however long it will take us to find them once we arrive, and the minimum two day journey it will take for us to get back…" Usopp said quietly, not wanting to finish his thought.

"Yeah…we will be cutting it close," Nami agreed, feeling the sting of tears at the back of her eyes. It took a lot to make her tear up, but the idea that they might not make it back, that they might not be able to keep the promise they made, that they might not be able to save their friends, caused her heart to clench painfully, and she couldn't help but think this was all her fault.

She was the one that refused to risk setting out to sea without a set log pose, and she was the one who came up with these ridiculous lies in the first place…she was their navigator, she should've just gotten them out of their when they had the chance, and found some way to make it to another island with or without the log pose…but because of her stubbornness, Zoro and Sanji might die.

"Don't worry, we will make it." Luffy said, his voice steady, any hints of worry were nowhere to be found.

Nami gave him a sad smile and nodded. His infectious optimism always had a way of lifting the spirits of everyone around him. The rest of the crew felt it to, a renewed look of determination crossing all of their faces.

"Luffy's right, there is no way we won't make it in time!" Usopp nodded, standing up and beating his chest proudly. "I, Usopp, warrior of the sea, will make it so!"

"Me too! Me too!" Chopper cheered happily, standing up next to Usopp in a similar proud stance.

A genuine smile reappeared on Nami's face, and she looked back down at the map in front of her. She was the navigator of the Strawhat Pirates, and she would make sure they made it back in time.

"Just hold on a little bit longer Zoro, Sanji-kun, we will make it back in 5 days. That I can promise you."

…

"It is not!" Sanji snapped, his uninjured fist clenched tightly in frustration. He couldn't believe the nerve Zoro had! And after all the emotional shit they had went through the past few days! It was unbelievable how quickly he could return to annoying the shit out of him.

"It is so!" Zoro snapped back, an equally annoyed expression painted across his face. His hands twitched at his side, searching for his swords out of habit, but knowing that he wouldn't find them there.

"Is not!"

"It is!"

"NOT!"

"IT IS!"

Sanji finally had enough, raising one of his legs in a swift kick. Since the cell was so small, the kick didn't have the same power behind it that it usually did, but it still managed to make firm contact with Zoro's chest, catching him off guard, and causing him to stumble back until he hit the wall on the opposite side of the cell.

"You're dead now curlicue." The green haired man hissed, lunging forward, fists raised, ready to throw a punch, but the blonde was too quick and dodged the attack last minute, causing Zoro to fall to the ground.

Sanji began laughing at the sight, but it was short lived, because Zoro managed to surprise him, grabbing his ankle and yanking him down to the ground with him. He landed with a thud on his side, hissing at the pain it caused.

He normally would of broken the fall with his hands, but seeing as one of his hands was most likely broken, or at least fractured, he didn't want to risk making it worse. Zoro seemed to realize this, and was about to apologize, before receiving another sharp kick to his gut.

He doubled over and began coughing, the wind completely knocked out of him, and before he could completely recover, he was tackled to the ground so he was lying flat on his back, with Sanji now straddling his hips.

Sanji smirked in triumph, holding Zoro's hands above his head with his good hand. It had been a while since they had fought like that, and they were both panting heavily from the exertion of it all.

Neither man would ever admit it, but it actually felt really good to be able to fight like that again. Even though the fight was short lived, it was enough to get their blood pumping, and cause a wave of excitement, which was something neither had experienced over the last few days. It almost made things seem normal…like they weren't trapped in a tiny jail cell awaiting their execution.

"Now admit it, it's not…" Sanji demanded after a few moments of enjoying the euphoria the fight had brought him.

"Honestly shit cook…" Zoro smirked, "I don't even remember what we were fighting about."

"Don't be an idiot, we were fighting about…" Sanji began but trailed off, staying silent for a moment as he tried to remember…what the hell had they been fighting about? "It doesn't matter because I won!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too! Or do you not clearly see I'm the one that won!?" Sanji asked, squeezing the hold he still had on Zoro's wrists to make his point.

"I see things differently," Zoro continued to argue, and before Sanji could protest, which he was clearly preparing to do, Zoro caught him off guard by lifting one of his legs up and hooking it around the blonde's torso.

Sanji's eyes widened in surprise, having no idea the green-haired man was even close to being that flexible, and before he could think of a way out of this situation, Zoro managed to turn the tables around, and flipped them over so now Sanji was the one lying with his back against the cold stone floor, and Zoro was the one straddling his hips.

Zoro was careful only to grab the blonde's uninjured hand, keeping his distance from the other one, not wanting to risk bringing any further injury to it. He knew how important Sanji's hands were to him, and was already concerned that he might've permanently fucked it up, so the last thing he wanted to do was cause anymore damage.

Sanji struggled against the hold, cursing himself for letting his guard down and allowing Zoro to get the upper hand. And since Zoro had superior upper body strength, not to mention use of both of his hands, Sanji doubted that he could pull the same move Zoro just did even if he wanted to.

Zoro smirked down at the other man, beyond pleased with his victory. More often than not their fights would always end in draws, so he planned on enjoying this win while he could. He could almost laugh at the scowl he was currently receiving, thinking it was almost cute how angry the cook was getting.

His normally pale smooth skin was tinting red, and his soft lips were currently pursed in a thin line…had his lips always looked that soft? And how did he manage to keep them looking like that when they were barely given enough food and water to sustain themselves…he licked his own lips feeling how dry and chapped they were.

Sanji's eyes followed the way Zoro's tongue ran across his lips, causing his breath to temporarily catch in his throat, and an increasingly familiar feeling of his stomach giving a strange churn. He could feel his face begin to heat up again, but this time it wasn't from anger.

Zoro finally realized he had completely zoned out staring at the other man's lips, and shook himself back to reality. He had no idea what the hell was wrong with him…since when did he stare like that at another man? Especially at his lips? He was seriously starting to question his sanity and was about to get off the blonde when his gaze caught the cook's. Their eyes held each other's for a few tense moments, and Zoro could feel as his heart began hammering in his chest.

He wanted to move, or at least look away, but he found himself completely frozen in place, getting more and more lost in the ocean blue eye that was staring back up at him. Had Sanji's eyes always been that brilliant shade of blue? Had he really never noticed that before?

Neither could possible say how much time had passed as they continued to stare at each other, when Sanji finally broke the silence, not able to bare it anymore.

"Zoro…" Sanji breathed out, his voice soft, barely above a whisper. Zoro felt his breath ghost across his face and suddenly realized just how close his face was to the other man's.

He didn't remember moving, and had no idea how the gap between them had gotten so small. He remained still, not able to bring himself to make the first move, as he waited for Sanji to continue what he had been saying, but no more words came, and another thick silence fell between them.

Sanji's breathing began to pick up, and he desperately tried to justify the tingling that had spread through out his entire body. Maybe he was getting sick? Or maybe the guards had been slipping some sort of poison or something into their food? Yeah, that had to be it…or maybe, maybe he had just been thinking about a girl, and his body was finally catching up to his mind…that would be a fantastic excuse, if only a single girl had entered his thoughts since he had told Zoro about his past yesterday, which one hadn't…then why the hell was his body reacting this way? There was no possible way it could've been because of Zoro, right? There was just no way! But despite it being absolutely impossible, some invisible force was slowly pushing them even closer together, and he wasn't sure he could fight it even if he tried.

Zoro tried to fight it too, but despite his best efforts, found himself with his lips no more than an inch away from the blonde's. How did this happen? What did this mean? His mind was currently whirling with hundreds of questions, but his body seemed oblivious to his mental panic, and continued to move despite everything. With one final movement, the once large space that had kept them apart was no more, and their lips merged together becoming one.

The kiss was very hesitant at first, both still a little unsure about what was happening, and whether or not it was right or wrong. They were nakama after all, as well as rivals, and this definitely wasn't normal behavior for two people with that relationship…not to mention they were both men…

But slowly the hesitation began to fade, and any lingering thoughts or doubts that plagued their minds, were quickly forgotten, as their bodies seemed to completely take over for them.

The kiss began to intensify, the pace of it picking up steadily.

Zoro forgot about holding the other man's arm, and instead brought his hands to the other man's head, tugging at his hair, attempting to pull the two of them even closer.

The unexpected pain of getting his hair pulled caused Sanji to gasp, leaving his mouth slightly opened. Zoro didn't waste any time and took this as an invitation for his tongue to slip past the other man's lips, entering his mouth until it was met with the resistance of the blonde's tongue.

They fought for dominance of the kiss, neither willing to back down, much like their real fights, both doing everything in their power to come out on top. The struggle for dominance continued for several minutes, but neither really seemed to mind.

The kiss was so much different than anything Sanji had ever experienced before that it was hard to explain. Usually when he kissed a woman he was gentle, and careful, and would never, ever risk pushing her past her limits. Women were delicate flowers that needed to be treated with the upmost care. But with Zoro…Zoro was far from delicate, and he didn't have to worry for a minute that he was pushing the other man to far, because he knew Zoro could handle anything he threw at him. He had the freedom to completely let go, which was such a foreign feeling and he couldn't even begin to describe how liberating it really was.

And for Zoro, he was slightly embarrassed to admit how inexperienced he was, and didn't even need one hand to count the number of women he had been with. He had just never really been overly interest in sex; it was something that was never really important to him before. All he really cared about was his training, and trying to obtain his dream, so sex and women rarely even entered his mind…on the odd occasion that his male teenage hormones did catch up with him, he would pick up a random woman at a bar, have a night of very forgettable sex, and then move on, completely blocking the whole thing from his mind once again.

But this…this was different. There was a feeling of arousal bubbling up inside of him that he had never felt before. It took ever ounce of his will power not to begin rubbing himself up against the other man like some sort of horny animal. He bit back a moan and could almost curse himself for allowing his resolve to break like this, but in that moment he couldn't bring himself to care…he had never wanted something so much in his life.

"Why do we have to stand here and watch them go at it? It's disgusting…"

"Yeah, why the King thinks either of these queers could've possibly made a move on one of his daughters is beyond me…"

The words of the two guards brought them crashing back down to reality, and they quickly pulled apart, taking a moment to catch their breaths, before Zoro rolled off of Sanji, putting a fair bit of distance between them.

The two stayed silent, the reality of the situation hitting both men hard, neither having any idea what to say. How could they possibly justify what they had just done? What excuse could they possibly make?

"We really convinced the guards huh…" Sanji said after a moment, keeping his voice low so only Zoro could hear. He felt his hands shaking slightly, burring them between his knees, hoping the other man didn't notice. He could still feel his heart pounding in his chest, and tried to take a few deep breaths in the hope of slowing it down.

"Y-yeah…maybe they will tell the king now and our _act_ will finally work," Zoro stuttered out in response, not knowing why he put so much emphasis on the word 'act' and not knowing why he hoped Sanji hadn't noticed.

"Yeah, maybe…" Sanji agreed, training his eyes to the floor, not daring to look anywhere in the other man's direction, not knowing how he would feel if he did.

All he knew was that he felt a strange sense of disappointment that their moment had been interrupted and he hated himself for that. And he also hated himself for also being disappointed that Zoro had agreed so quickly to the excuse he made.

Zoro sighed, an overwhelming feeling of frustration washing over him, and had to fight back the urge to hit one of the stonewalls. But the last thing they needed was for him to end up with a broken hand as well, especially if their friends didn't make it back to them in time and things came down to a fight. If that were the case the odds were already stacked against them, and he certainly didn't need to make it any worse.

Whatever was happening was frightening, and neither of them knew how to deal with it, at least with their whole 'act' to fall back on, they could continue to pretend it was nothing, at least for a little while longer.

These next 5 days were going to be the longest of their lives. They could only pray that their friends hurried and made it back soon, then maybe, just maybe, they could escape this place with out having to confront those confusing feelings at all.

…

 **A/N: So good news, we got our first real ZoSan kiss, bad news, it was interrupted and our boys once again are trying to deny their feelings. Luckily they still have a few days to work their shit out.**

 **I hope this was okay, like I said in the previous author note, I kind of wrote this all last night so I'm not sure how good it is…hopefully you managed to enjoy it though. And since this next week is 'reading week' I will have absolutely nothing to do (trying to have a life aside) so I will certainly be putting some serious time into finishing up this story. Or in the very least getting a chapter or two a head. Wish me luck on this!**

 **And let me know what you thought! I always love to hear opinions or constructive criticisms. And our boys still have four days left in that cell, so if any of you have suggestions about what you would like to see happen (dirty things a side…trust me, we will get to that) then let me know! Hopefully I will see you guys soon :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait! My last update was while I was on break so I thought I could get ahead and even maybe finish this story…instead I got completely distracted and got absolutely nothing done. So my deepest apologizes. And thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter as well as chose to favorite or follow this story, I appreciate it all! I'm sorry that this isn't a little longer, but I've already got half the next chapter written, so at least you shouldn't be waiting long for the next one after this. I hope you enjoy!**

…

 **4 Days Until the Trial**

The last 24 hours had gone by agonizingly slowly, both men barely speaking a word to the other.

Neither of them had any idea what to say. After the kiss yesterday they agreed about using their 'act' as an excuse, but they both knew it was a lie, and they both knew that the other knew it was a lie…so what were they supposed to say? How could they possibly go on pretending everything was normal?

The entire situation was hard enough already, being confined to a jail cell awaiting possible death, and now the whole thing was made that much worse with the thick tension that had grown between them.

Zoro sighed, tossing the stale piece of bread he had been attempting to eat back down on to the plate. He hadn't had much of an appetite the last 24 hours, and didn't think he could stomach another bite of the 'food' they were just given…he wasn't even sure it could be classified as food, especially not when he was so use to the cook's food.

He groaned, mentally slapping himself. The cook was the one person he didn't want to be thinking about right now, yet every thought that entered his head seemed to lead back to the blonde bastard in some way…

He couldn't shake the strange feelings that had been plaguing him since yesterday, no matter how hard he tried. It was overwhelming, and he had never experienced such an intense feeling before, so he had no idea what to do with himself.

He had tried several times to start a conversation with the blonde, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they could sort out whatever had been growing between them. As scary as the whole thing was, the scariest part was ignoring it and pretending it wasn't there. But every attempt ended in utter failure, with the blonde not even able to meet his eyes, let alone speak a word to him.

He never realized just what it was he was feeling until yesterday, when he felt the ache it his chest at Sanji's denial. He so badly wanted to say something, anything to try and convince the cook…but when he couldn't even get the blonde to look at him, he wasn't about to make an ass out of himself by spilling his guts with some sappy confession…

Sanji sighed, pushing his empty plate away. It certainly wasn't good, but it was edible, and after going through what he had he would never turn down a meal. He chanced a look up at Zoro, seeing the green haired man hunched over, his head buried in his knees.

He felt an uncomfortable pang looking at him, seeing him so obviously upset…he wanted to go over there, to do something to take any negative emotion away, but he couldn't. It was wrong…wasn't it? Sure, he could kid himself and go over there pretending he was just comforting him as a friend, but he wasn't stupid, he knew it wasn't true…he knew exactly how Zoro was feeling, because he was pretty sure right now he was currently feeling the same thing, and whatever it was definitely laid outside the realms of friendship.

But they were nakama, and they were both men... Those were two undeniable facts that he couldn't quite bring himself to get past. How could he possibly feel what he was feeling for one of his crewmates? For one of his _male_ crewmates? After living his life in one specific was for so long how was he supposed accept this? And _Zoro_ of all people…the Marimo…the manner less drunk…could this seriously be happening?

The kiss briefly flashed into his mind, causing him to remember the sensation of Zoro's body pressed against his own, remembering those large calloused hands in his hair, remembering his tongue sliding against his…an unwelcomed heat began pooling inside him, and he cursed himself. Apparently this really was happening. And it made things a lot harder to deny when thoughts like that kept popping into his head…

He finally tore his eyes away from the Marimo, still at a complete loss of what to do, when his eyes landed on the other man's still full plate of food. He had barely taken a few bites, and if he remembered correctly from yesterday evening, he had barely touched his food then too. He didn't say anything to him about it yesterday because the whole 'incident' was still so fresh and he couldn't bring himself to speak, but this was the second meal now, and something inside him snapped…

"Eat your goddamn food shit head!" Sanji blurted out before he could stop himself. He instantly cringed at his choice of words, realizing that resorting to old behavior under the current circumstances might not be the best idea, but it was too late, he couldn't take them back now.

Zoro lifted his head up, startled when the eerie silence in the cell had suddenly been broken. It took a moment for his brain to catch up and actually comprehend what the cook had said, and once it did he couldn't help but scoff.

"Seriously? That's the first thing you're going to say to me after all of that?" The 24 hours of silence had been pure torture, his feelings causing nothing but confusion and pain, and those were the first words the cooks was going to say to him?

"You should eat…" Sanji mumbled, tearing his eyes away from the other man once again. He could feel heat spread across his face, feeling the other man's eye boring holes into him.

But Zoro wasn't going to allow him to get away with that. He couldn't just break the silence like that, and then try and avoid him and the whole situation again! The last 24 hours had been building up to this moment and he couldn't just brush it off…he couldn't handle that.

"And you should look at me!" Zoro snapped, seeing the blonde flinch, but continued to keep his eyes fixed on the floor. "Are you really so disgusted with me that you can't even look at me?"

"No…" Sanji said carefully, feeling the intensity of Zoro's gaze on him. He wanted to say more, he wanted to try and articulate how he was really feeling, but the words seemed to get caught in his throat.

"You've really got nothing else to say to me?" Zoro said after a few moments passed, when it became clear that Sanji wasn't about to continue. "I don't know how I could've thought that…that…you know what? Never mind…"

Zoro grabbed the piece of stale bread he had attempted to eat before, shoving it in his mouth, forcing himself to swallow it, before continuing, "There, I ate. Now there's no reason for you to speak to me."

Sanji bit his lip, whether it was to stop himself from speaking, or to stop his lip from quivering, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that it hurt. Zoro's words hurt…seeing the other man in pain hurt…and trying to make sense of his own feelings hurt. Everything hurt. And he had no idea what he supposed to do. How was he supposed to fix this?

"Sorry," he finally whispered, his voice seeming to echo throughout the tiny cell. But he received no response.

…

 **3 Days Until the Trial**

"Thank God we finally made it here." Usopp said, his eyes shifting from side to side nervously. This was supposedly a deserted island, but he was getting an eerie feeling, like his old 'we shouldn't set foot on this island' disease was acting up.

There was a depressing air to the island, something that instantly brought your mood down. The grass was a faded green that seemed like it was on the verge of death, much like many of the trees and other plants. Even the sky, which seemed to be a perfectly normal shade of blue while they were on the Sunny, now seemed dulled in comparison.

There was definitely something off about the island, and they couldn't help but think it had something to do with the person they were currently seeking out.

"According to the map, this is the place." Nami said, looking up from the paper tightly gripped in her hands to see the small stone building before her.

"Let's go then!" Luffy grinned, managing to take a few steps forward before he was stopped. He turned around when he felt a hand on his shoulder, expecting to see an annoyed Nami shouting at him to 'think before acting' but was surprised to see a calm Robin, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I don't mean to offend you captain, but maybe it would be best if only Nami and I continue on from here."

"But…" Luffy began to protest, but was quickly interrupted.

"No, she's right," Nami said, "I didn't even think about it until now, but considering the situation I think it would be best if it was only me and Robin who continue."

Luffy stared at the two of them confused for a few moments, until it finally dawned on him what they meant, and he reluctantly nodded.

"Alright," he said, "But make sure if you run into any trouble you find some way of letting us know."

"Of course," Robin agreed. Her and Nami turned to go when Luffy spoke again.

"Our nakama depend on this." He said, quietly, but both women heard him, and nodded in understanding.

…

Another day passed by agonizingly slowly…and yet again neither man had barely spoken a word to one another. And as bad as the previous 24 hours had been, the last one seemed even worse after the harsh words they had exchanged.

Zoro had heard Sanji's quiet, hushed apology, and a part of him really wanted to respond to it. Whether to accept it, or reject it, and continue the argument they had been having. He chose to stay quiet instead, not wanting to risk saying something he would regret. They were already in a weird place, a place he wasn't sure they would ever be able to come back from, and he didn't want to make it worse by saying anything more on the issue, especially when it appeared his feelings weren't returned…

He looked up, hearing the other man give a pained gasp. He saw the blonde cradling his hand to his chest, his brow furrowed, and his bottom lip clenched between his teeth.

The sight instantly caused a wave of worry to hit him, and despite his earlier conviction of not saying anything, not wanting to make it worse; he couldn't hold back his concern.

"You alright?" He asked, receiving a surprised look from the blonde, before he quickly looked away.

"Yeah, I'm fine…"

"You're a shit liar," Zoro scoffed, getting up and making the short walk to the other side of the cell were Sanji was currently sitting. He plopped down beside him, causing the blonde to scoot away a bit, causing Zoro to roll his eyes in return. "I'm not going to bite idiot…let me look at your hand."

"It's really fine, it's not a big deal." Sanji protested, cursing his body for reacting the way it was to the other man's close proximity. He felt a brief chill rush down his spine, and hoped Zoro didn't notice the blush he was sure was now tinting his skin.

"Don't be a pussy…" Zoro mumbled, grabbing the blonde's hand anyway, instantly feeling bad when he heard the other man hiss. "Does it really hurt that bad?"

"It's fine…"

Zoro was beginning to get annoyed by that answer, and applied the slightest bit of pressure to the hand, causing Sanji to curse and shove him away, all but proving his point.

"It's not fine," Zoro said, carefully unwrapping the torn piece of shirt that was being used to cover the injury.

He cringed when he saw the hand…it was swollen, not too mention a sickening shade of blue…it was clearly broken, and he shuddered to think about the possible repercussions that could arise if it was left untreated.

He wasn't a doctor by any means, but he had his fair share of injuries while growing up, and he saw first hand what could happen if an injury wasn't properly treated. He remembered an old friend of his at the dojo that ignored an injury to his leg after a match. He pretended like it was nothing and that he was fine…it was only after it was too late did they learn that he had severally broken his leg, and because of his stubbornness he ended up losing the limb.

The idea of the cook possibly losing his hand, or even losing some degree of function to his hand, caused an uncomfortable lurch in his stomach, and he couldn't shake the overwhelming need to do something…anything.

"Hey guards, we need a doctor." Zoro said, getting back up, making his way to the bars of the cell.

The guards ignored him at first, causing a growl inside his throat. They heard him, he know they did, he saw their eyes flash in his direction…

"Hey shit heads! I said we need a doctor!" He snapped, again receiving no reaction.

"Zoro, it's fine…" Sanji said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible.

"It's not fine!" Zoro hissed, shaking the bars in front of him violently, to no avail. "He needs a fucking doctor, and he needs one now!" He yelled, his voice having risen steadily louder.

The guards exchanged a look, but remained immobile.

"We're sorry, but we were ordered to stand guard…if either of us left now the consequences would be severe." The slightly taller guard spoke, causing Zoro to snarl in response.

"That's bull shit! You're lucky I don't have my swords right now! Other wise you would be…" Zoro trailed off when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

The touch caused a spark to shoot through his body causing him to briefly stiffen up, but slowly all the tension and fury began to drain from his body. Within moments his body seemed to completely relax, all but melting into the touch. It had been 48 hours since he had made any sort of contact with the other man, and he never would've realized how much he missed it, how much he enjoyed it…how much he needed it.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." Sanji spoke again, failing to keep the pain he was so desperately trying to hide out of his voice.

The truth was that it hurt, badly, both physically and mentally. He had injured himself countless times, so he was sure it wasn't so much the physical aspect he was having such a hard time coping with, but the fact that it was his hand…his tool…the thing that allowed him to bring his food to life, and bring smiles to all his friend's faces…his hands were his most cherished possessions, without them he was nothing.

"I already told you that you were a shit liar," Zoro sighed, turning around, having to stop himself from pouting when the blonde's hand fell back to his side and he lost the contact that he had so been enjoying.

"I'm not a shit liar…you're just a stubborn ass that won't listen to what he is told…"

"Stubborn ass maybe, but you're still a shit liar."

The two stayed silent for a few moments, the tension that had briefly faded between them starting to build back up again. And it was even more suffocating this time around, so much so that Sanji was beginning to actually feel like he was having trouble breathing.

It felt like all the air had suddenly escaped his lungs, and no matter how desperately he tried he couldn't catch his breath. His heart rate began to increase and a sudden feeling of panic began to over take him.

"Cook? You okay?" Zoro asked after a moment, hearing the blonde begin to gasp for air. "Sanji?"

He received no response and began to get really worried. Sanji's normally pale skin was even paler than usual, and he looked sweaty and clammy all of a sudden. What startled him most was the terrified look that crossed the cook's face, before he began to fall forward.

Zoro was at his side in an instant, wrapping his arms around his waist before he could fall to the ground, pulling him tightly to his chest.

"Sanji? Sanji! What the hell is going on! Answer me you shit cook!" Zoro asked, shaking him as gently as he could, but only received a few ragged breaths in response. "Help! I need help!"

"Z-Zoro…" Sanji wheezed out, before going completely slack in his arms.

Zoro froze for a moment, an overwhelming feeling of dread and panic overtaking him. He could feel his heart hammering against his ribs and his breath catch in his throat. He considered himself a warrior, and had trained himself to know no fear…but in that moment, he had never been so scared in his life.

What the hell just happened?

…

 **A/N: And queue the 'boos' for my awful cliffhanger XD This little occurrence wasn't something I was really planning on before had and just kind of happened while I was writing the chapter. So what do you think? What is wrong with Sanji? I would love to hear any theories or suggestions :D Let me know what you thought!**


	15. Author Note (Sorry, Not a Chapter)

Hey everyone, I hope you are all doing well. I apologize for getting your hopes up thinking that this was a chapter, but as you could probably tell from the title not to mention the length, it is not.

I've been trying my hardest to find time to write, but my life has been so hectic lately that it's been really hard. And anything I do write I find is very rushed and below average. And the coming weeks aren't going to get much better.

Right now I'm preparing for a bunch of final assignments and final exams for school, and on top of that I am volunteering with a first aid organization, which I'm taking an extended three week course with them basically right after finals are over. So I will be busy prepping for that, and once that course starts I will be attending 8 hour classes every day for three weeks, and probably come home mentally and physically exhausted, and would likely not be able to write anything…and just as the course ends near the end of April, I'm moving at the end of April, so I will have 2-3 days of packing and cleaning fun.

The point I'm try to get to is that even though I feel bad for keeping you guys waiting, that I will likely not be able to get another chapter to you until the beginning of May when I'm settled in my new place and all the craziness of the past 6-7 weeks is over. This is probably disappointing to hear, I can definitely understand that being a fanfic reader myself, but I'm afraid I can't do much about it. I would hate to sit down and write a half ass chapter just to get something out.

So I apologize again, I hope you will be patient with me, and I promise the minute I'm settled into my new place that finishing this story will be one of my top priorities. And who knows, maybe one night inspiration will strike and a chapter will appear before then, I definitely wouldn't rule out the possibility, but I also wouldn't hold out hope for it.

I wanted to do this update though to let you know, so you know what's going on and that you aren't disappointed when week after week no chapter appears. Sorry again and I promise I will see you guys as soon as I can.

HollyWoodFix :)


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: Surprise update! And so soon after I gave that long-winded announcement about how you wouldn't see another chapter for at least a month…well one of my commitments I had been planning for sort of fell through. That three week first aid course I was preparing for like a mad man was cancelled due to lack of enrollment. I was pretty pissed at first because I had already put countless hours into preparing for it, but I don't really mind so much anymore…it give me more time to prepare for it if I choose to take it again this summer, plus it makes this next month a little less hectic. Sure I still have some school stuff to finish up, and I have to move a month from now, but that all seems very manageable in comparison to what I was looking at before. And what it also means is that I once again have spare time, and what spare time means is more fanfiction! Yay XD I want to thank everyone who sent me well wishes, you were all incredibly understanding and I appreciate it so much 3 And I'm so happy that I didn't end up having to make you wait those 5-6 weeks. So with out further a due, here is the next chapter. Please enjoy!**

" _Here you go Sanji, your very first cook book," she said with a giggle as she watched the smile spread across the young boy's face._

" _How did you know!?" The excitement was obvious in his voice as he began flipping through the pages. He couldn't wait to try each and every recipe!_

" _I saw you eyeing it when we visited the bookstore last week. The master told me not to spoil you but…it's not every day one turns nine years old." She beamed down at him, "So, do you like it?"_

" _I love it, I love it!" Sanji cheered jumping up and down, throwing his arms around her waist and squeezing as tight as he could. "Thank you mom. I love you."_

 _Sanji sighed in contentment, never recalling a moment when he was quite so happy. He wished things could stay like this forever._

 _He looked back up but found the woman suddenly gone. He didn't see her leave…where did she go?_

" _Mom? Mom?" He called out but received no response. That was strange; he could've sworn she was here a minute ago and that they were standing in the mansion's kitchen. Why than was he outside? And when did it get so dark out?_

" _Why the hell did we get stuck doing this?" A very irritated voice hissed._

" _Because father said so, now stop bitching and help me."_

" _I still don't see why we couldn't just pay someone to do this…or better yet, make the little shit do it. This whole thing was his mess anyway."_

 _Those voices sounded so familiar, both of them causing his blood to run cold. He raised his hand to his chest, feeling his heart hammering against it. What was this feeling? Was it fear?_

 _The voices were getting closer, and he quickly jumped in a nearby bush, trying his absolute best to conceal himself. For some reason he really didn't want the owners of those voices to see him._

 _They both came into view, their blonde hair reflecting under the moonlight. But something was wrong…there was blood…so much blood. What the hell just happened?_

" _Thank God that's over with," one of the men groaned._

" _No kidding. Next time the brat fucks up and calls some servant mom, he'll have to dig the damn hole himself."_

 _What? What were they talking about? What hole? Were they talking about his nanny? His mom? Do they know where she went? But why…why was there so much blood?_

 _He began gasping for air, his hands grasping his hair painfully tight in order to stop himself from crying out. It was his fault, it was all his fault…_

 _He needed to get out of there, he had to get away, he didn't want to hurt anyone else, he didn't want to be the cause of any more pain. He stood up and began running, but had to halt suddenly, managing to stop himself in time before he fell off the rocky surface._

 _How did he get there? Wasn't he just in his family's garden? And why did his stomach hurt? Why did he feel so weak?_

 _He looked around but saw nothing but blue skies and ocean for miles. The sun was warm, and a few lonely clouds drifted in the distance. It was almost beautiful…except, except he felt awful. He was tired, so tired…maybe he should lie down and sleep for a while?_

 _No, no he couldn't do that. Something was telling him that if he went to sleep now then he would never wake up. And he couldn't let that happen, he couldn't let that geezer risk his life for nothing…wait, the geezer, that's right. He remembered now. He was here with Zeff! Zeff would know what's going on! He would know what to do!_

 _He hurried across the rocky surface, as fast as his frail body would take him, a sense of relief hitting him when he saw the older man. He ran up to him, ready to ask him what he should do when he suddenly froze, his stomach clenching painfully…_

 _What happened? Where was his leg? Was it gone because of him? He remembered him having it before which means…that he must've…oh God, it was his fault. It was his fault again? Why? Why did he keep hurting the people he loves? Was there something wrong with him?_

" _What's wrong shit cook?"_

 _Sanji's head snapped up at the words, his breath catching in his throat as he saw Zoro standing before him, his arms crossed, a slightly bored look on his face._

 _What was Zoro doing on this rock? He shouldn't have been there…but wait, he wasn't on the rock anymore, he was in a jail cell. When did he get there? Why was he there? And why was Zoro there?_

" _How did we…" But Sanji trailed off, as the memory came back to him. They were both there because he let his guard down. He let himself be fooled into thinking he had something with Lucy when it was never there…he let her use him and they got caught…and because of his selfishness Zoro was in this cell waiting to die. It was his fault! Once again it was all his damn fault!_

" _You know if you keep making that face it might stay that way." Zoro chuckled, causing Sanji's attention to return to him. He had his usual smug smile on, like absolutely nothing was wrong._

" _How can you joke at a time like this!" Sanji snapped, feeling tears of frustration stinging the back of his eyes._

" _Because unlike you, I know everything is going to be okay."_

" _How can you possibly know that?! We've been in this cell for almost 5 days and haven't heard a word from our friends! How can you be so calm! You could be facing death because of me!"_

" _I thought we already went over this…" Zoro sighed, rolling his eyes. "This isn't your fault."_

" _Yes it is!"_

" _No it's not…I'll admit I sort of blamed you at first, but I see things differently now. This was an unfair situation for everyone, for me, for you, even for Lucy…no one is really to blame. Except for maybe that king…seriously? Who has laws like that?"_

" _How can you say that? I was the one that kissed her! It was because of me that we were caught. It's definitely my fault."_

" _No, he's right eggplant," Zeff said, the sound of his peg leg hitting the stone floor echoing throughout the cell as he stepped up next to Zoro._

" _Zeff? What the hell are you doing here?" Sanji said completely confused._

" _Well apparently you're not listening to this green-haired weirdo…"_

" _Hey," Zoro huffed, but got completely ignored._

" _What happened on that rock wasn't your fault either. I chose to save you because we shared the same dream and I saw something in you, something worth saving, I never regretted that decision for a minute."_

" _But you're leg, and your crew…"_

" _The death of my crew was unfortunate, but it was also unavoidable. That storm would've taken them out regardless if I were there or not. And losing the leg has never gotten in my way. I was still able to achieve my goal and build the Baratie…not too mention I was still able to kick your scrawny ass everyday. So stop blaming yourself for something so ridiculous. It was no ones fault."_

 _How could Zeff say that? There was no way what happened wasn't his fault. The old man must've been out of his mind to even think for a second otherwise. If he would've just kept some of the food for himself that day then maybe…_

" _Sanji darling?" A soft, smooth voice spoke, causing an overwhelming sense of calm to wash over him. Appearing on the other side of Zoro was a familiar blonde woman._

" _M-mom?" The words slipped out before he could stop them, an immediate sense of horror coming over him as he quickly looked around, making sure nobody had heard him._

" _Don't worry Sanji, no one's going to hurt me, not anymore." The woman gave him a reassuring smile._

" _But they did hurt you, didn't they?" Sanji whispered, not quite able to bring himself to meet her eyes. The memory in the garden flashed back into his mind, feeling a wave of guilt and anger crash down on him. No matter what Zoro and Zeff were saying, there was no way anyone could deny that it was his fault that the woman he considered a mother was dead._

" _Yes, they did," she answered, giving him a sad smile, "but it wasn't…"_

" _Don't you dare say it wasn't my fault! Of course it was! If I had only watched what I was saying then you would still be alive!"_

" _You don't know that. I knew the risks involved when I was bought by your family."_

" _Wait, what do you mean bought?"_

" _I never told you sweetheart because I didn't want you to look at me differently, but I didn't work for your family because I wanted to…no one in their right minds would do that. I was a slave and had no choice but to work for your father. Please don't look so upset," she stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, and he could swear that he could almost feel warmth from the touch. "The day you were born and I was put in charge of looking after you was the happiest day of my life. I went from being a slave to being a caretaker, to being a mother, and it was the best feeling in the world. Every moment I spent with you was the happiest moment of my life. But that being said, it was only a matter of time until I was disposed of. Your father didn't usually keep a slave around for more than a year or two before he eventually found a reason to have them killed…he only kept me around for so long because of you. So please don't think that you were the one responsible for my death…if anything you prolonged my life for years, and you filled those years with so much love and joy for me. Do you understand now?"_

 _Her words were overwhelming and he had a hard time accepting them. But when he looked up and saw her face and how absolutely sincere she was being, a tiny part of him desperately wanted to believe that it was true, that it really wasn't his fault, and that the soul crushing burden that was on his shoulders could be lifted at last._

" _Forgive yourself my son, and allow yourself to be happy. I want that so badly for you, so please don't deny yourself that." She whispered, brushing his hair out of his face, before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead._

" _And eggplant," Zeff said, once the tender moment between the two blondes was over, "just so you know, even though he's a man and it looks like his hair is molding…love is never wrong."_

 _Those words caused his face to heat up instantly. How did Zeff know? Was it really that obvious?_

 _He turned his head away, taking a moment to collect himself before he turned back, but when he did Zeff and his mother were already gone. He felt a pang of sadness that he didn't get the chance to say goodbye, but was happy that he had gotten the chance to see them at all. Even if it was only during some weird ass dream…_

" _So…that was your mother?" Zoro asked, breaking the silence that had fallen throughout the room. "She kind of looks like Lucy…you got some weird kink or something?"_

" _NO! You're such an asshole! I just went through all this deeply emotional shit and was getting ready to confess to you and you say something like that!" Sanji snapped, feeling his blood literally begin to boil._

" _Confess to me huh," Zoro chuckled, a smug smirk lighting up his face. "Sanji the ladies man was going to confess to me?"_

" _S-shut up." He could feel his face growing hotter, and wished he could disappear in that moment._

" _Come on cook, say it…you looooooooove me."_

" _So what if I do you ass! You got a problem with that?!" He snapped, getting more and more annoyed by the second._

" _Not at all," Zoro said, wrapping his arms around his waist, the contact causing a spark to shoot through Sanji's entire body. "But don't tell me that. Wake up and tell the real Zoro that."_

" _What if the real Zoro turns me down?" Sanji said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "What if he laughs in my face? What if the crew judges us? What if things don't work out and it ends up effecting everyone?"_

" _And what if the real me ends up feeling the same way? What if the crew accepts us with nothing but unconditional love? What if everything works out and we live the rest of our lives together happily?"_

" _Zoro…"_

" _I know your not a coward cook, so stop acting like it. Sure things might not work out, but you don't know that unless you try."_

" _When did you get all philosophical and shit?"_

" _I didn't…I'm your dream remember…so this is all stuff you've already known, but you just didn't quite know how to accept it."_

" _I-I think I can now…" Sanji says softly, feeling a sense of peace unlike he had ever felt before. For the first time in his life he felt like maybe he could be happy…genuinely happy._

" _Good," Zoro smiled, cupping Sanji's left cheek with his hand. He brushed his thumb along the blonde's smooth skin, causing Sanji to shiver at the contact. "No wake up shit cook…" He said, his voice laced with amusement, lifting the hand he had been using to caress his cheek and giving him a less than playful slap, "wake up!"_

…

"Bastard!" He woke up with a gasp; nearly choking as his lungs greedily took in the air around him. He felt that his body was drenched in sweat, and got chill from the cool air of the cell.

He briefly wondered if this was still part of his dream, when he felt his hand begin throbbing in pain, and knew he must've been back in the real world.

The cell was quiet, and Sanji got worried for a second that something had happened to Zoro. What if they took him somewhere? What if the king decided not to wait any longer to execute him? How long had he actually been out for? He had to get out of here! He had to find him!

He jumped to his feet, about to make a dash for the bars, when his head began to spin and his vision slightly blurred. He stumbled forward, but before his knees could give out from underneath him, he felt a strong arm wrap around his waist.

"Idiot! You're supposed to be resting!" The words, though filled with annoyance, were such a relief hear. He looked up to see the other man's scowling face, feeling his stomach give a small jolt at the sight. Images from his dream came back to him, and a sudden wave of confidence came over him. He no longer cared about any reservations he was having about his feelings before, and that maybe the people in his dream were right and that he deserved to be happy. "Get back to bed curly…"

Zoro began saying but his words were suddenly cut short, in literally the most unexpected way.

Sanji had thrown his arms around his neck, and smashed their lips together, effectively ending his sentence, not to mention the general functioning of his brain. He stood there wide-eyed in a completely frozen state when his mind finally caught up to what was happening. A part of him was worried that maybe this was just some after effect of the medication he was given and that he didn't really mean what he was doing, but in that moment he really didn't care.

He closed his eyes and began moving his lips in rhythm to the blonde's, feeling that familiar tingling spread throughout his body that he remembered from a few days ago.

He had almost begun to believe that he had dreamed the whole thing, that nothing could possibly feel as good as it did when he kissed the cook…but here he was, being proven wrong.

Zoro felt Sanji's tongue run across his bottom lip, and he got the hint, parting his lips so his tongue could enter his mouth. Despite being locked up in this cell for so long, and the less than great hygiene they were both experiencing, Sanji still somehow managed to taste amazing.

He placed his hands on the blonde's waist, pulling their bodies even closer together, having to suppress a moan as his rapidly hardening member brushed up against the cooks. Sanji bucked his hips forward, causing the most amazing sensation from the friction, but it was also this action that caused Zoro to realize exactly what was going on, and despite how much he didn't want to, he pulled back slightly, ending the kiss.

"What's going on? What was that for?" Zoro finally asked after taking a few moments to catch his breath.

He led Sanji back over to the cot, seeing that he still looked a little paler than usual, forcing him to sit down, before taking the seat next to him.

"I was wrong before…" Sanji said after a couple of moments, hesitantly placing his hand on the other man's leg. Zoro didn't say anything or react at first, which caused a small bit of panic to rise up inside him, but his fears were quickly dispelled when Zoro placed his hand on top of his own, entwining their fingers.

"What do you mean you were wrong before? Wrong about what?"

"Wrong about ignoring you since the kiss…I never meant to…" Sanji sighed, struggling to find the right words. Despite all of his over the top fawning over women, he was still completely new when it came to stuff like this, and had never seriously confessed to someone before.

He lifted his free hand up to rub his face, only to feel a hard shell like material. He hadn't noticed it until now, but his injured hand was now in a full plaster cast, which reached up to his forearm.

"After you passed out the other day, a doctor came in and treated your hand and the infection it apparently caused." Zoro began after seeing the confused look on the blonde's face. "Apparently you had a fever that you hadn't noticed, which was a side effect of an infection that occurred because the hand wasn't treated right away. The doctor also mentioned that the stressful situation might have made the whole thing worse and that you could've had some sort of panic attack that triggered the fainting…he said a bunch of other stuff but I don't really remember. I kind of tuned him out once he said that you should be okay and make a full recovery…you freaked me out pretty badly you curly browed bastard."

"I'm sorry…I never noticed a fever." Sanji said, surprise evident in his voice. He had been so caught up in all of his thoughts and confusing feelings that he had been completely oblivious to everything other than the obvious pain in his hand.

"You better be sorry asshole," Zoro scoffed, "you could've died you know…and if you would've died before I got a chance to…" he trailed off, his face flushing once he realized what he had been about to say.

"Got a chance to what?" Sanji asked, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, when he saw the blush extending all the way up to the tips of the swordsmen's ears.

"N-nothing…" He stammered, clearing his throat, "Before I got a chance to kick your ass for putting us in this situation…was what I was going to say."

"Whatever shitty swordsmen," Sanji snorted, "I could kick your ass even with my fever and broken hand."

"You're dreaming cook…"

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm not dreaming anymore…but I was dreaming, and it was super weird, but I learned something from it all."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I learned that it wasn't my fault. And that I deserve to be happy."

"I repeat, what the hell are you talking about?"

"And you know what? For some strange reason…one I can't even begin to comprehend…apparently you make me happy. And if I was suppose to take anything away from that messed up dream it was that I should go for what makes me happy…"

"Cook I…"

But Zoro was once again cut off as Sanji pressed his lips against his own. Only it was a lot softer and less needy this time around. The kiss only lasted a couple of seconds before Sanji pulled back, uncertainty in his eyes as he waited for Zoro's response. But Zoro didn't answer, at least not out loud, and instead leaned forward to capture his lips once more.

Sanji smiled into the kiss, the action giving him the answer to his unasked question. The gentle way Zoro stroked his hair and moved his lips against his, told him everything he needed to know. He knew Zoro didn't really have a way with words, so this was more than enough.

Zoro slipped his tongue past Sanji's parted lips, exploring every inch of the cook's mouth, as he gently shifted their positions, so he could lay Sanji down on the cot without jarring his hand.

Sanji moaned when he felt Zoro's toned body, lined up perfectly with his own. He would've never have guessed that he would enjoy the sensation of a male's hard body versus a female's soft one, but here Zoro was proving him wrong…the green haired man seemed to be proving him wrong when it came to a lot of things lately, and funnily enough, he didn't mind, at least not anymore.

Sanji pulled at the hem of Zoro's shirt, slipping his good hand underneath and running it up the warm toned flesh he found there. He brought his hand around to Zoro's chest, running his fingers along the jagged diagonal scar that dominated the surface.

He remembered the day he received that scar, it was so clear in his mind, as if it had happened yesterday. He had thought that the swordsmen was such a fool, that he was needlessly throwing away his life, he couldn't even begin to understand what it meant to have a dream, to be willing to sacrifice everything for that dream. But everything changed for him on that day, and he understood now why Zoro had done what he had done, and he had nothing but a deep seeded respect for him now…not that he would ever tell him that.

After stroking the scar a few times, he shifted his hand sideways, finding the small bud he had been searching for, giving it an experimental squeeze between his thumb and index finger. He received a gasp in response and couldn't stop the smug grin that grew on his face.

"Someone is a little sensitive." He chuckled.

"Shut up," Zoro muttered, bucking his hips forward, receiving a gasp of his own. "Now who's sensitive?"

"Whatever moss-head…"

"Ero-cook."

"Marimo."

"Curlicue."

"Drunk."

"Pervert."

Sanji just chuckled, capturing Zoro's lips in a quick kiss before pulling back. "I'm the pervert? You're the one practically dry humping me in front of two guards."

"I didn't hear you objecting to it cook."

"Never said I was," Sanji said, in a husky voice that he usually reserved for romancing the ladies. Apparently it still got the desired effect though, when he saw the tiniest hints of blush tinting the other man's cheeks.

He was about to make some snappy comment about the swordsmen's embarrassment when a sudden thought crossed his mind, hitting him like a ton of bricks out of nowhere.

"Cook?" Zoro asked, suddenly concerned when he saw the other man visibly pale. Did he push him too hard? Should he have let him rest? Was he about to have another episode?

"I just thought of something…when you were telling me what happened earlier. Maybe I misheard but…when you were telling me how I passed out, I could've sworn you said 'the other day'…" Sanji trailed off, looking for some sign from the swordsmen that he had indeed misheard, and that they still had three whole days to spend together before the trial. But no sign came, instead Zoro sighed, turning his gaze away from him. "Zoro…how long have I been out for?"

"Two days," Zoro answered bluntly, figuring there was no point lying to the cook at this point. He would've known the truth soon enough anyways. "The trials tomorrow cook…and before you ask, no, I haven't heard anything from the others yet."

"T-that can't be…two days? I was really out for two days?" He stammered, receiving a sad nod in response, feeling a sudden sense of dread and panic wash over him. Any remaining hope that he had that their friends would make it back with plenty of time to spare was slowly fading away…if it really was the night before the trial, and they hadn't contacted them yet that could only mean that they weren't back yet, or they had failed in locating Lucy and her sister.

Which meant that this could be his last day alive, a difficult thought to get his mind around. Especially after all the revelations he had from his dream. He thought he had more time, more time with Zoro, more time to be happy…more time to prepare for what he might have to do on the day of the trial…instead he only had one night.

One night…one night to experience everything he had been longing for. To allow himself the happiness he had tried so long to keep at bay. One night to spend with the person that he loved. A lifetime wouldn't have even been long enough, let alone a few hours…he couldn't, he couldn't allow himself to have any regrets.

"I wanna do it."

"W-what?" Zoro stammered, seeing the suddenly determined look in the blonde's eyes. "You can't be serious…what about the guards?"

"They can either watch or not, either way I don't give a shit. I'm not going to leave this world with any regrets."

"You would regret not having sex with me?" Zoro asked, meaning for it to come off as teasing, but was surprised at how genuine the question really came out. The cook just bit his lip and nodded, nearly causing his heart to stop. An overwhelming feeling of love and affection for Sanji weld up inside of him, and he doubted he could say no to the man even if he wanted to.

If this was truly what the blonde wanted, he would be sure to give him a night he would never forget.

…

 **A/N: How cruel of me to cut this chapter off before the smuttiness could get started. But I want to definitely draw out their night together, so it had to be a chapter of it's own. Now, I'm not very good when it comes to smut…I've never felt particularly confident writing it, so it may take a little while for me to write something I'm satisfied with, but I will try not to keep you waiting too long. In the mean time, let me know what your thoughts were on this last chapter, I would love to hear them XD**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: I don't even know how to begin to apologize for the wait! I got so busy with school wrapping up. Than I moved, which is always stressful. Than a string of wildfires broke out across my province and I was busy volunteering with evacuees for a few weeks. Not to mention the writer's block I experienced after returning to this story after not touching it for weeks. So once again I am sorry, and I really hope you will enjoy this chapter. And that its not a let down after such a long wait. And a special thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I appreciate it so much :D**

…

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Zoro whispered as he slowly unbuttoned Sanji's shirt, exposing his pale, smooth, unmarked chest, the sight of which caused his stomach to give a pleasant churn. It was funny how he could see the other man nearly naked hundreds of times before and feel nothing, yet it was doing unimaginable things to him now.

"For the 20th time Marimo, yes I want to do it…. unless, do you even want to do this?" He asked, all of a sudden very unsure of himself.

As nervous as he was about the whole thing, he was confident in his decision. He cared for Zoro, for whatever reason, and wanted to have one night with him before…well, he didn't really want to think about it right now, he just wanted to enjoy the moment. But Zoro now asked if he was sure at least 15 or more times…which left him a little less confident that this was actually what the other man wanted.

"Of course I do cook, it's just…" Zoro trailed off, shifting his eyes away from the blonde.

"It's just, what?" Sanji asked after a few moments of silence passed between the two of them. He had no idea what the swordsmen could be thinking, but was that blush taking over the Marimo's face again? What was he so embarrassed about? Was he secretly shy and too nervous to do it with the guards so close by?

"I just…never mind, it's stupid. Let's just do it." Zoro mumbled, feeling as though his face was literally on fire. He dipped his head down, placing his lips on the other man's chest, desperately hoping that he could just distract him and that he would forget the whole thing, but his efforts were in vain, as Sanji grabbed the side of his face and pulled him back up to eye level. He was a stubborn ass…of course he wouldn't drop it. He should've known better.

"I don't want to do this if you're hiding something from me." Sanji said, propping himself up on his elbows, so he could see Zoro more eye to eye as they talked. "If you're not sure about me and whether or not you want to...I'm not going to force you."

"After everything you still think I'm unsure about you?" Zoro asked, trying his best to keep the hurt out of his voice as he saw hints of doubt in the other man's eyes.

"Well, I know I wasn't your first choice, and that we were kind of forced into this situation…after everything that I've done, I wouldn't blame you if…" The rest of his sentence was cut off when Zoro forcibly slammed their mouths together. A slight bit of pain resulted from the action, but the spark it sent throughout his body more than made up for that.

Zoro began moving his lips, shuddering at the way Sanji responded to his touch. Every single time they have done this now it just felt so…right…there was no other way to describe it. How Sanji could doubt his feelings for even a second, he wasn't sure…unless he didn't get the same spine tingling thrill that he got himself when they touched.

After a few minutes of enjoying the other man's impossibly smooth lips against his own, he pulled back, hoping that he proved his point.

"Don't you dare keep blaming yourself for what happened. And even though we were forced into this situation… who says you're not my first choice?" Saying the words out loud sounded even more embarrassing than they did in his head, but the smile that tugged at the other man's lips was more than worth it.

"Who knew you could say such sappy things moss-head?"

"Whatever…" He mumbled, unable to think up a suitable come back. Instead he placed a lingering kiss on the other man's lips, hoping to continue what they started. "So, are we doing this or what?"

"You're not getting off that easy…you still haven't told me why you were so hesitant earlier."

Damn…he was hoping he forgot about that.

"Can't you just drop it?" He asked hopefully, but received a look that let him know that it wasn't likely. "Fine," he sighed, already feeling his face heating up once again. "I just wanted to make sure that this was really what you wanted because…"

"Because…"

"Shitty fucking cook, it's because you're special to me! And I wanted our first time to be special because I know you're into all that romantic crap. I didn't want you regretting later on that our first time together was on some lumpy cot, in a damp, cold jail cell, with a couple of perverted guards watching…" he said the last part a little louder, shooting a glare at the guards, who promptly averted their gaze. He turned back towards Sanji, and was no longer able to read the look he was giving him.

A few moments of silence passed between them, Sanji taking in Zoro's words, before a smug smile slowly spread across his face.

"You really are just a big old sap aren't you?"

"That's it. Relationship is over…" Zoro hissed, preparing to get up off the other man, when he was pulled back down by the collar of his shirt, and received what must've been the most heated kiss of his life.

Sanji plunged his tongue into the other man's mouth, taking his time to map out every inch of it, until Zoro's tongue began responding and sliding against his own. They pushed each other's back and forth a few times, in a lazy struggle for dominance, when Sanji pulled back.

"I really do appreciate the thought Marimo. And you're right, usually that romantic crap is important to me, but these aren't exactly normal circumstances…I want to believe that our crew is going to swoop in at the last minute and save us, I really do, but I also want to be realistic and not kid myself. The fact is this really might be our only chance to do this and I don't want to lose this opportunity…"

"I get it cook. And I didn't mean to make you doubt things. I just wanted to be sure…because I guess I'm naïve enough to believe that everything is going to work out in the end, and I didn't want you to regret anything…and I guess there's still a part of me that thinks…"

"That thinks what?" He asked softly, the gentleness of his voice almost surprising Zoro. He wasn't sure he had ever heard him sound so…caring, not even when it came to Nami or Robin. It was slightly strange to hear, but at the same time it actually caused him to relax, and finally lower the final wall he had been keeping up.

"That there is a possibility that you are either high on your medication and don't realize what you are doing and saying to me…or that you do realize, but you are only doing it because you are convinced that you're going to die tomorrow. And that if the crew does show up, and we're saved, that you might try to pretend that none of this happened…" He trailed off, hating how absolutely vulnerable he sounded. He wouldn't admit it, but the idea that Sanji really didn't mean some of the things he was saying was terrifying. He couldn't imagine trying to go back to the way things were before, not now, not after this.

He braced himself for laughter, or some sort of mocking comment, but instead received Sanji's uninjured hand gently cupping the side of his face, forcing him to turn his head until their eyes met once more.

"Zoro…" He said carefully, doing his best to keep his voice as even as he could…he would not admit to getting slightly emotional…nope, not him, not at all. "Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once."

Zoro nodded his head, keeping his eyes locked with the cook's, as he silently waited for him to continue.

"You annoy me more than anyone else in this world, and sometimes you make me so angry that my blood literally boils…seriously half the time I have to restrain myself from physically strangling you almost every minute of the day…"

"Wow, way to reassure me…"

"Shut up shitty Marimo, I'm not finished yet," he rolled his eyes, ignoring the annoyed look that crossed the other man's face. "Like I was going to say…despite all that, I trust you, and a believe in you more than anyone else in this world. So despite all logic, I think I love you, I do, no matter the circumstances...sure, being forced together this past week has probably caused these feelings to surface a lot sooner than they might've under different circumstances, but the more I think about it, the more I'm sure they've always been there, at least to some degree, I was just too stubborn and in denial to consider it before."

Zoro stilled at the other man's words, having a hard time attempting to comprehend what he had just said. Did he actually hear what he thought he heard? Or was he imagining things? Could the cook really love him? The man that he seemed to annoy merely by existing? That man…loved him?

Even though he knew there was obviously something developing between them, he would've never have guessed that the cook's feelings already reached that level. It was such a foreign thought that it literally took him a few minutes to process it all, and once he had, he came to a sudden, and somewhat startling realization.

"I love you too." He blurted out without thinking, feeling his face begin to burn with embarrassment almost instantly. He could feel his heart begin to race, and almost felt like he was about to vomit. Did he actually just say that out loud? He hadn't even had time to process it once the realization stuck him, before it came spilling out.

Love…it wasn't something he usually thought about. Ever since he was young it was something he tried to keep a safe distance from. After all nothing good came from love in his experience. He loved his parents, than they died. He loved, or at least deeply cared for, Kuina and than she died. So why would he ever want to experience the heart wrenching pain of losing someone he loved ever again?

He had come to the decision years ago that he would never allow himself to feel that emotion again, and for years he had done a great job at it. He had built a reputation that instilled fear, making it easy to keep a safe distance from people. That was until an insane rubber boy forced his way into his life, breaking down several of his walls, forcing him to feel things again. He had formed a deep seeded respect for his captain, and he was sure it was because of him that he even considered opening his heart again to others.

Then the cook entered his life, and he wasn't even sure how he would describe the rollercoaster of emotions and feelings the blonde had put him through. Sure most of those emotions initially involved frustration and annoyance, but over time they shifted into something completely different.

He started seeing Sanji as more than just a hindrance, at some point, he wasn't sure when, he started seeing him as his rival. His strong spirit, and inhuman abilities, spurred him to want to be better, to push himself just a little more. Their competitive natures fed off each other perfectly, and at some point a bond formed between them, a bond that meant more to Zoro than any other he had experienced in his life.

He wasn't sure when that bond shifted from being rivals, to wanting more…he couldn't even begin to pin point the moment when things changed. Maybe it wasn't until they were locked up in this dungeon together? Or maybe it went as far back as the first time he got annoyed at Sanji for making an ass out of himself in front of a woman? He would've never considered the fact that the annoyance he felt could possibly be linked to jealousy, but considering how things worked out, it definitely wouldn't surprise him now.

But in the end it didn't matter when it happened, or how it happened, all that mattered was that it did happen…and that he was here now with Sanji, who, despite all logic, seemed to return his feelings.

"Zoro? You okay?" Sanji's voice spoke, snapping him out of his thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

He wasn't sure how long he had been zoned out for, but if the look of concern on the blonde's face were anything to go by, he would guess it had probably been quite a few minutes.

"I'm fine," he finally managed to say, after taking another few moments to collect his thoughts. "It was just a strange feeling actually saying that out loud."

"You don't regret it do you?"

"No…" Zoro didn't even hesitate to say. "Of course I don't. There's a lot of things I regret in my life…but loving you isn't one of them."

Despite feeling that his words were once again embarrassing as hell, he gave a victorious smirk when he saw the blush light up the other man's face. And seeing him suddenly look so innocent and vulnerable was the last straw. He was going to shut up and give Sanji what he wanted, no longer able to hold himself back.

He reattached his lips to the blonde's, nipping at his bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth, nearly shuddering when he received a breathless gasp in response. Within a matter of seconds the other man was already driving him insane, and he just prayed that this didn't end too embarrassingly quickly.

He peeled away the rest of the shirt he had already undone earlier, taking in the full unobstructed sight of the blonde's bare torso, giving in as his animal instincts urged him forward, and took one of the cook's nipples into his mouth.

He whirled his tongue around the small bud a few times; unsure whether or not this was bringing the other man any sort of pleasure. He decided to give it an experimental nip, and was rewarded when he received a gasp that transformed into a low moan.

"I'll have to remember that you're sensitive there."

"I am not you shitty…" He trailed off when the swordsmen gave his nipple another light bite, forcing himself to hold back a moan, as a wave of pleasure shot through him. He was not going to allow the Marimo to think that he had complete control of the situation, and decided that it was time to take matters into his own hands…or hand, because unfortunately he was down to one at the moment. He took a moment to kick himself mentally for being so damn dramatic earlier and breaking his hand…having use of both would've made this a whole lot easier. But he was never one to give up, and he was determined to make the other man gasp and moan just like he had done to him moments ago.

He wrapped one of his legs around Zoro's waist, not giving Zoro time to process what was happening before he gave it a sudden jerk, effectively flipping them over, so now Zoro was the one lying on his back, and he was the one in control.

"What the hell cook!?" Zoro barked, feigning annoyance, as he gave the other man one of his best glares. He would never say it out loud, but seeing the blonde take charge like that was actually kind of a turn on, and the almost feral look he was now receiving sent a chill down his spine.

The blonde said nothing as he attached his lips so Zoro's neck, nipping and sucking every inch of skin he came in contact with, will simultaneously unbuttoning his shirt with his good hand.

Once he had the other man's upper body bare, he leaned back, allowing himself to take a moment to appreciate the sight before him.

He wasn't going to lie, seeing Zoro like this, given the current situation was still a little bit weird. It had only been a few days since the thought of actually wanting to be with a man had even entered his mind, and it was only since he had woken from his dream barely an hour earlier that he had actually accepted his feelings. So looking down at Zoro now, feeling his heart beating wildly against his chest, and feeling his arousal begin twitching to life, was a sensation that was going to take a while to get use to.

Zoro saw the brief look of confusion cross the blonde's face, followed by his cheeks tinting a bright red. He was about to ask what was wrong, when he felt the reason for his embarrassment pressing against his thigh. He had to hold back a laugh, wanting to ask Sanji what the hell he expected, but held himself back from doing so. He knew this situation was going to take some getting use to, for the both of them, but especially for Sanji.

Sanji had always loved women, worshipped them even, so to all of a sudden be faced with the reality that he was attracted to a man, not only that but falling in love with him as well, must've been a hard reality to face. Zoro on the other hand had never really thought too much about his sexuality before. On the rare occasion he had gotten the 'urge' he would simply go to the nearest town and find the first willing partner. The majority of the time it was women that he had taken to bed, but he couldn't deny the fact that there had been a man or two he had also bedded on occasion. So he wasn't quite as nervous as the other man seemed to be, but this was his first doing it with some one he actually cared about, so there were still a few nerves there for sure.

Zoro's member, which had already come to life after hearing that first low moan coming from the blonde's lips, gave a throb when he saw the other man bite his bottom lip looking sheepish.

This was a completely new side to Sanji, one he had never seen before. He looked so shy, so innocent…and as enduring as he found it to be, in that moment his body ached for that feral, wild Sanji to return. The one that had flipped them over and took control in the first place.

He decided to snap the other man out of it, hoping that he could reassure him that he wasn't alone, and that he had no reason to be embarrassed by how his body was reacting, because his body was reacting exactly the same way. He placed his hands on either side of the blondes hips, shifting his entire body slightly so their arousals now lined up, before bucking his hips up, while simultaneously holding Sanji's down, causing the perfect amount of friction.

The pleasure that rushed though Sanji's body at the heavenly friction finally snapped him out of his frozen state. The sensation was still strange, having another man's erection rub up against his own, but it wasn't strange in a bad way. And just knowing it was Zoro, and knowing how they felt for each other, made any lingering hesitation melt away. This was Zoro, and it felt so good, there was no way this could ever be wrong.

Sanji leaned back down, anxiously capturing the other man's lips again, as they started a steady rhythm with their still clothed groins, meeting each other's thrusts with enthusiasm.

Zoro's hands wandered from the sides of his hips, to Sanji's back side, the sensation of which caused him to momentarily tense up, but he quickly pushed that feeling aside, and flawlessly fell back into the rhythm. It was a little too late to protest about anything now, especially since he was the one that initiated this in the first place. Besides, it didn't actually feel that bad. Zoro was kneading his backside, causing the friction and timing of their thrusts to be even more perfect.

"Shit, Marimo," Sanji panted against the other man's lips, embarrassed because he could already feel an all to familiar heat begin to pool in his lower abdomen. He felt like a blushing virgin in that moment, not able to believe that he couldn't even hold on long enough to be able to finish undressing each other.

If he stopped the thrusts now, he may be able to compose himself long enough to finish undressing and actually get to the deed they had set out to do. But in that moment, feeling Zoro pressed against him, and seeing the look of absolute pleasure on his face, he knew he couldn't stop what was coming now even if he tried.

With one final thrust, Sanji was pushed over the edge, coming hard into his dress pants, feeling his whole body temporarily go numb as his orgasm took over.

"Shit," Zoro moaned, seeing the look on the cook's face as he came. He had never seen anything so erotic in his life, and he briefly wondered why it had taken so long for him to realize his feelings for the blonde…he was absolutely breath taking. With that thought in mind, and knowing he was the one to bring the blonde to his climax, was enough to push him over the edge as well, coming with Sanji's name leaving his lips in a low moan.

After a few more lazy thrusts, riding out the last of their orgasms, Sanji collapsed against the other man's chest, still attempting to catch his breath.

After a few moments passed by, Sanji couldn't help but burst out laughing, the reality of the situation sinking in. Another moment past before Zoro joined in as well.

"Did we just…"

"Dry hump in a dungeon?" Sanji finished for him, still chuckling to himself.

"That is so…"

"Embarrassing?"

"That's putting it mildly." Zoro laughed.

"So much for doing it while we still had the chance…between the medication they have me on, and what we just did…I don't know if I have the energy to…"

"Don't worry about it cook," Zoro interrupted, seeing the slightly disappointed look spreading across the other man's face. "This way when we actually do it for the first time, it won't be in a dank prison. It will be special…it will be what you deserve…what _we_ deserve."

Sanji sighed, nodding sadly, not having the energy to say anything to contradict the other man's words. He wanted to believe them so badly, but he still had a nagging feeling in the back of his head telling him to prepare for the worst. And no matter how many times he tried to silence the voice, he just couldn't seem to make it stop.

He finally accepted the fact that things he use to blame himself for, weren't actually his fault, and that he deserved to be happy just like everyone else. But whether he believed that it was actually in his future or not was a different story. When he had already experienced so much pain, why should this time be any different?

"I know that look," Zoro sighed, lifting one of his hands up to start stroking the slightly sweaty blonde locks. "You trust me right? You said earlier that you trust me more than anyone else didn't you?"

"Yes…" Sanji answered hesitantly, blushing slightly when he remembered his sappy words. He had been caught up in the moment, and hadn't realized how embarrassing he had sounded.

"Then trust me when I say that everything is going to be alright." Zoro said softly, placing a gently kiss on the blonde's forehead. "We are going to get out of here, together. And then once I have you alone…after we've both showered of course…I'm going to find the nearest bed and make love to you as many times as you want."

Sanji smiled despite himself, the swordsmen's optimism was infectious. Despite his doubts, he did trust Zoro more than anyone, and for tonight, he would push his worries away and allow himself to believe the other man's words. Whatever tomorrow might hold for them, be it death or freedom, they still had tonight. He would hold on to Zoro's words, and pray that tomorrow never came.

He could feel his mind becoming cloudy, wanting to slip away into unconsciousness, but he forced himself to stay awake, when a sudden thought crossed his mind.

"What did you mean when you said you would make love to me? Are you implying that you would top?"

"Well yeah…" Zoro yawned, feeling the long day finally catching up to him. Well if he was being honest he hadn't actually slept in over two days, not since the stupid cook went and nearly died on him. How was he supposed to sleep when he was worried the blonde might never open his eyes again?

"And who says you get to be top?" Sanji asked curiously. As slightly horrifying as the idea of bottoming might be, it wasn't as horrifying when he thought of doing it for Zoro…which was horrifying in itself. When did he turn into such a submissive push over?

"Don't you remember when we first got to this island, and Nami first came up with this charade?"

"Yeah…"

"Well if you remember correctly, I called dibs on being the top."

"Yeah, b-but that was when…that wasn't even…that doesn't count!"

"Sorry cook, I called it. Rules are rules."

"You are such an moss-headed idiot!"

"Curly brow…" Zoro yawned again, feeling his eyes growing heavier.

"Marimo…" Sanji shot back, the annoyance slowly draining out of him, relaxing into the warmth of the other man's body, feeling more and more comfortable as the familiar teasing continued.

"Pervert cook…"

"Brawn and no brain…"

"Fancy feet…"

"Stupid drunk…"

"Sanji…" Zoro muttered softly, before finally drifting off to sleep, a content smile present on his face.

"Zoro…" Sanji replied, knowing the other man could no longer hear him. Despite his earlier conviction to not let what was going to happen tomorrow get to him tonight, he couldn't help as certain thoughts entered his head. Such as the thought that Zoro might be killed because of his slip up…it was a hard enough thought to process when he was thinking of Zoro as nakama, as his rival…but knowing what he knows now, feeling what he felt now…he couldn't, he wouldn't accept that outcome.

"I have a back up plan, if the others don't end up showing up," he said quietly, not wanting to wake the other man. "One way or another Zoro, you will walk away from this…unfortunately I can't say the same thing about myself. But that's alright, really…being here, now, with you…it's enough."

He placed a soft kiss on the swordsmen's neck, careful not to wake, before lying his head back down on the other man's chest. Falling asleep to the strong steady rhythm of Zoro's heartbeat.

…

 **A/N: So I hope you don't hate me too much after that. After last chapter I know you were all expecting some actual smut, and to be honest, when I first started writing this chapter weeks ago, I myself was expecting smut. But as I was writing it, and including all these fluffy fuzzy moments, the more I felt like this wasn't the time for smut. Especially given their situation. They both just realized they love each other, which is a first for both of them, and I couldn't bring myself to have their first time together to be under these circumstances. But I couldn't resist adding a little something dirty in, so I hope the little dry hump was enough for now, haha. But don't worry there** _ **will**_ **be some actual smut in the future. Sorry again if that was disappointing after waiting for so long, but this was just the direction the story took. And sorry if the amount of fluffy OOC-ness made you cringe, I just couldn't help it.**

 **Anywho, enough rambling. Let me know what you thought, and I will try my best to get the next chapter up in a far shorter amount of time than this one. Thank you for reading, until next time!**


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